Ward was co-opted onto South Dublin County Council on 14 March 2016, representing the Clondalkin local electoral area. He was elected Mayor of South Dublin in June 2018, serving until June 2019. He was reelected to the council in the May 2019 election, this time for the Palmerstown–Fonthill local electoral area. On 30 November 2019, he was elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2019 Dublin Mid-West by-election. Lisa Colman was co-opted to Ward's seat on South Dublin County Council following his election to the Dáil. Despite predictions that he would lose his seat, he retained it at the 2020 general election, alongside his running mate Eoin O'Broin.
