He previously served as Chair of the Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs from 2016 to 2018.

[8] On 15 November 2018, Tóibín announced his resignation from Sinn Féin, saying that restrictions imposed on him by the party over his views on abortion had "prevented me from fully representing my constituents".

[9] After resigning from Sinn Féin in November 2018, Tóibín announced that he would attempt to establish an alternative political party.

[19] The Phoenix has described Tóibín's overall political identity as appealing to "the more socially conservative of nationalist voters",[5] while Gerald Howlin of the Irish Examiner has likened Tóibín's overall political identity to the Sinn Féin of the 1970s under Ruairí Ó Brádaigh's leadership.

[21][22] Tóibín's most well-known political position is his anti-abortion stance, which ultimately caused his departure from Sinn Féin.

However, alongside Carol Nolan, he broke ranks and continued to vote against law reforms regarding to abortion in the Dáil.

[20] In 2019, Tóibín stated that there was "growing unease and concern among many people in Ireland around the issue of immigration".

[5] Additionally, Tóibín has stated that if asylum seekers can be placed in modular homes, so too can homeless Irish people.

It will go any direction it feels necessary to get votes" while also commentating that "Other political parties are distracted by virtue-signalling on the latest woke fashion.