Naughton surprised many by unseating party colleague John Mulholland at the
2009 local election in the Galway City West
local electoral area (
Salthill-
Claddagh-Knocknacarra). John Cunningham suggested that personal networking, effective postering, and the endorsement of Maureen Egan aided her victory. Her nomination was in doubt after Councillors objected to her allegation the previous January. She caused controversy when she used her
casting vote as mayor to deny
David Norris the right to address Galway City Council during his campaign to get a nomination for the
2011 presidential election. She later claimed it was a "misunderstanding". At the 2011 general election, Naughton was one of four Fine Gael candidates for the five seats in Galway West;
Seán Kyne and
Brian Walsh were elected, while Naughton and
Fidelma Healy Eames were unsuccessful. In July 2013, Walsh was expelled from the Fine Gael
parliamentary party for voting against the party
whip on the
Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013. Healy Eames was expelled a week after Walsh for opposing the same bill in the
Seanad. On 19 July 2013, Naughton was appointed to the Seanad by
Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Walsh was readmitted into the Fine Gael parliamentary party in 2014, but resigned for health reasons before the general election. At the
2016 general election, Naughton was elected to the Dáil alongside her party colleague Seán Kyne. In October 2019, she was appointed to the chair of the Dáil committee investigating ethics complaints about members who voted on behalf of colleagues. She was later forced to resign after it came to light that she had done the same on several occasions. Voting on behalf of colleagues in the Dáil was not permitted. At the
2020 general election, Naughton was re-elected to the Dáil, as the sole Fine Gael TD in the five-seat constituency. In June 2020, at the formation of the
32nd government of Ireland, Naughton was appointed as one of three
Ministers of State attending cabinet. She was appointed as
Minister of State at the Department of Transport with special responsibility for International and Road Transport and Logistics and
Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for Postal Policy and Eircodes. From 27 April to 1 November 2021, Naughton was assigned additional responsibilities as
Minister of State at the Department of Justice with responsibility for criminal justice, during the
maternity leave of
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee. In December 2022, she was appointed as
Government Chief Whip and
Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy following the appointment of
Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach. At the
2024 general election, Naughton was re-elected to the Dáil. At the formation of the
35th government of Ireland in January 2025, Naughton was appointed as
Minister of State at the Department of Children, Disability and Equality with responsibility for disability. She was also a
super junior minister, one of four
Ministers of State in attendance at cabinet, but without a vote. On 18 November 2025, she was appointed to cabinet as
Minister for Education and Youth. ==References==