| Office: | Minister of State |
| Suboffice: | Environment, Community and Local Government |
| Subterm: | 2014–2016 |
| Office1: | Senator |
| Term Start1: | 8 June 2016 |
| Term End1: | 29 June 2020 |
| Constituency1: | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| Term Start2: | 13 September 2007 |
| Term End2: | 25 February 2011 |
| Office3: | Teachta Dála |
| Term Start3: | February 2011 |
| Term End3: | February 2016 |
| Constituency3: | Waterford |
| Birth Date: | 15 May 1969 |
| Birth Place: | Waterford, Ireland |
| Nationality: | Irish |
| Party: | Fine Gael |
| Children: | 3 |
Paudie Coffey (born 15 May 1969) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Minister of State from 2014 to 2016. He served as a Senator from 2016 to 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach, and previously from 2007 to 2011 for the Industrial and Commercial Panel. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Waterford constituency from 2011 to 2016.[1]
He was first elected to Waterford County Council in 1999 for the Suir local electoral area, and re-elected in 2004. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2007 general election for the Waterford constituency, but was subsequently elected to Seanad Éireann in July 2007 as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel.[2]
Coffey was elected for the Waterford constituency at the 2011 general election gaining 9,698 (18.1%) first preference votes and was subsequently elected.[2] On 15 July 2014, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government with responsibility for Housing, Planning and Co-ordination of the Construction 2020 Strategy.[3] He lost his seat at the 2016 general election.[2] [4]
Coffey was instrumental in the introduction of the Construction Contracts Act 2013. The Act regularises payment terms between construction companies, and puts in place a dispute resolution process aimed at reducing days lost and costs on construction projects.
He was nominated by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny to the 25th Seanad in May 2016.[5]
Coffey alleged he was defamed by the Kilkenny People newspaper on 15 January 2016. He was nicknamed 'Coffey the Robber' after the newspaper published an article containing a press release by Carlow-Kilkenny Fine Gael TD John Paul Phelan. The comparison was based on William Crotty, who was an 18th-century criminal known as Crotty the Robber.[6] Coffey settled out of court on 31 July 2019.[7]
On 16 December 2019, he announced that he was retiring from politics and would not contest the next general election.[8]