Michael Noonan, who spent Christmas in hospital after underoing a medical procedure, remains a hugely popular Minister despite having delivered three austerity budgets since he took up the finance portfolio almost five years ago.

It is a singular achievement, especially for a man whose career was in ruins when he was forced to resign in 2002, after just 18 months as Fine Gael leader, following the party’s disastrous general election result.

But his career revived, Phoenix-like. In 2010 he became king-maker, siding with party leader Enda Kenny while in Opposition in the failed leadership heave from mainly younger party members who supported Richard Bruton.

As an elder statesman of the party his decision to back the leader had an influence on other party votes and paved the way for that meteoric revival of his own political career.

Mr Kenny appointed him finance spokesman, in the post-heave front bench, his third time as opposition spokesman on finance since 1987. The leader and Taoiseach then followed it up by appointing him Minister for Finance when the Fine Gael Labour coalition took office in March 2011.

He has faced a number of health issues in recent years. Earlier this year he underwent surgery for a condition known as exopthalmus or bulging of the eye.

And in 2014 he had to undergo surgery and five weeks of radiotherapy after he was diagnosed with a sarcoma on his right arm. The treatment was successful and he was told there was a low risk of recurrence.

At 72, he is the second oldest TD in the Dáil, the oldest Cabinet member, and Fine Gael’s most experienced Minister, having held the health, justice, industry and commerce, and energy portfolios as well as finance.

A combative politician with a keen sense of humour, a good storyteller, and a master of the political put-down, he is a leading light in the coalition Government and a central figure in Fine Gael’s bid for re-election, with its “stable Government” slogan.

He was first elected to the Dáil in February 1981 and re-elected at each of the nine subsequent general elections. He started out in local politics as a member of Limerick County council, where he served from 1974 to 1982 and again from 1991 to 1994.

Born in Loughgill, Co Limerick on May 22nd 1943, he attended local primary school and St Patrick’s Secondary School in Glin, Co Limerick.

He went on to train as a primary school teacher at St Patrick’s teacher training college in Drumcondra, Dublin, before going to UCD to complete a BA in English and economics, and a higher diploma, enabling him to teach at second level.

After a stint as a teacher in Dublin, where he joined Fine Gael, he returned to Limerick, became involved in local politics and ran for the county council, before running for the Dáil in the then constituency of Limerick East, now Limerick City, in 1981.

He married Florence Knightly, a primary school teacher from Co Kerry and the couple had two daughters and three sons. His wife was diagnosed with Alzheimers, while he was still party leader and canvassed with him during the early stages of her illness.

In 2010 he gave an emotional account on RTÉ's Frontline television programme of her struggle with the disease as it developed, his efforts at caring for her, the impact of her illness on the family and the decision to move her into residential care. She died in 2012.

His first ministerial appointment came in December 1982, just 18 months after he became a TD, when he took up the justice portfolio. He launched an investigation into the tapping of journalists’ phones and revealed its findings, that the previous Fianna Fáil government had authorised the tapping of the phones of Geraldine Kennedy, Bruce Arnold and Vincent Browne. In the aftermath of the scandal the then garda commissioner and deputy commissioner retired.

In 1986 he was appointed minister for industry and commerce and the following year served just three months as minister for energy before the March 1987 general election.

After Fine Gael lost power in that election Mr Noonan was appointed finance spokesman for the first time by then party leader Alan Dukes but subsequently demoted to transport spokesman by incoming leader John Bruton. He supported TDs who unsuccessfully attempted to oust the party leader in 1994 and he resigned from the frontbench.

When Fine Gael came into power in the 1994 rainbow coalition, Mr Bruton gave him the health portfolio in what proved to be a highly controversial appointment;.

His handling of the blood products contamination scandal and his treatments of the case of Bridget McCole who contracted Hepatitis C was callous and insensitive. He was forced to establish an inquiry into the scandal and subsequently apologised for his approach to the McCole family and the controversy.

Back in opposition in 1997 he became finance spokesman again but tabled a motion of no confidence with party colleague Jim Mitchell in Mr Bruton’s leadership in 2001 after very poor opinion poll ratings.

The leader was ousted and he became the top man, beating Enda Kenny for the position. But he was party leader for less than two years, resigning when the 2002 general election proved a meltdown for the party with the loss of 21 seats. Succeeded by Mr Kenny as leader, he retreated to the backbenches and a quiet political life while caring for his ailing wife.

Back in action and a central figure in the party from 2010 onwards, he has had a gruelling but effective term as Minister for Finance, with the prospect of returning for more.

Popular in his own party and Government, he is also popular with fellow EU ministers and won the 2013 accolade of European finance minister of the year from a Financial Times-owned publication, The Banker, for the "extraordinary progress" in Ireland's improving economy since the recession, including the exit that year from the EU/ECB/IMF bailout, and the State's re-entry into the bond market.

In one of his few public faux pas he caused offence and raised eyebrows when he said in 2012 during an episode in the Greek financial crisis that most Irish people had little in common with Greece apart from holidaying on Greek islands and feta cheese.

He announced the introduction of a property tax in his second budget in December that year.

The past year has seen controversy over transactions at the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation and the Minister eventually accepted the establishment of a commission of inquiry. But head of the inquiry Mr Justice Brian Cregan said he did not have adequate powers to complete his investigation and said legislative change was necessary. The total value of write-offs of the 38 transactions was €1.9 billion.

But the Minister has been seen as a calm and steady hand on the financial tiller in the rollercoaster recession years. He wants to retain the finance portfolio if Fine Gael return to office.

And despite his current hospitalisation with a chest infection, he has said he will be at the Government’s next Cabinet meeting on January 5th and re-iterated his intention to contest the general election.