Background
Stanton was born in County Cork.
Stanton was born in County Cork.
He was educated at Saint Colman"s Vocational School, Midleton. Sharman Crawford Technical Institute, Cork and University College Cork where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Mathematical Science.
He has been a Teachta Dála (Territorial Decoration) for Cork East since 1997. Stanton served in the Reserve Defence Forces (RDF) as an officer in the Army Reserve. Stanton was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1997 general election and has been re-elected at every general election since.
Prior to this he acted as deputy spokesperson on Education and Science, and spokesperson on Labour Affairs, Consumer Rights and Trade from 1997 to 2002.
From 2007 to 2010, he was party Assistant Chief Whip (Dáil Reform) with special responsibility for Disability Issues. In July 2010, he was appointed party spokesperson on Defence.
Before entering politics, he was a woodwork and technical drawing teacher and a career guidance counsellor in Saint Colman"s Community College in Midleton. He was party spokesperson on Social and Family Affairs, and Equality from 2004 to 2007.