In 2011, Griffin was selected on the Fine Gael ticket in Kerry South, along with incumbent TD Tom Sheahan.

[6] At the 2016 general election, Fine Gael had a disappointing result nationally, but Brendan Griffin improved his first-preference vote to 9,674, polling third in the combined Kerry constituency.

[citation needed] He was returned to the 32nd Dáil, on the 11th Count, after his government colleagues Jimmy Deenihan and Labour's Arthur Spring were eliminated.

On 11 July 2016, Brendan Griffin spoke to RTÉ News: Six One calling for Taoiseach Enda Kenny to step down as Leader of Fine Gael before the Dáil returned in September.

In 2022, Griffin called for a ban on all SUVs in the Dublin Bay South constituency, in response to what he described as "hare-brained proposals" regarding climate action.