He is a member of the Transport and Tourism Committee, as well as the Fisheries Committee. Ó Neachtain was instrumental to the recognition of the Irish language as an official working language of the European Union. He addresses the parliament in Irish.
After obtaining a BA (hons) in 1969, Ó Neachtain became a school teacher. He worked in this capacity through the 1970s and 1980s. He was involved in regional politics around Galway and western Ireland from 1979 and made his first foray into European politics when he was appointed as a member of the Committee of the Regions in 1994.
