She was a Fine Gael senator from 1981 to 1989, and subsequently joined the Progressive Democrats (PDs), serving from 1997 to 2006 as a senior aide to the party's leader.
She subsequently graduated from University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Higher Diploma in Education, before working as a teacher.
Martin Cullen the Progressive Democrats TD for Waterford, defected to Fianna Fáil after the a dispute over candidate selection for the 1994 European Parliament election, and Bulbulia then joined the PDs.
The job, which carried at the end a salary of €140,000 a year, involved daily liaison with the Taoiseach's programme manager, Gerry Hickey.
[8] Harney stayed on as Minister for Health after resigning the party leadership, and in November 2006 she appointed Bulbulia as chair of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency.