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THE CABINET OF the 33rd Dáil has been revealed.
After months of negotiations, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party have formed a new government.
Micheál Martin has been elected Taoiseach and is due to serve until late 2022.
At that point, under the terms of the coalition deal, Leo Varadkar will take over the role again.
Martin has now revealed his new-look Cabinet, making the announcement as the Dáil sat in the Convention Centre.
Micheál Martin has wanted the top job for some time now, and despite being appointed Taoiseach, he will be the shortest-serving Taoiseach yet when he swaps with Leo Varadkar in 2022 under the rotating Taoiseach deal struck under the programme for government.
Martin was first elected as a TD for Cork South Central in 1989.
He has served on the Fianna Fáil front bench and in four cabinet posts: Minister for Foreign Affairs (2008-2011), Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (2004-2008), Minister for Health (2000-04) and Minister for Education (1997-2000).
Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, while Tánaiste, is to take on the beefed-up Department of Enterprise.
Varadkar will be tasked with rolling out the special July jobs initiative which will help get businesses back up and running after the public health emergency.
Simon Coveney said last week he would like to remain as Minister for Foreign Affairs:
“I’ve always had a passion for international politics and foreign affairs and it is a brief that I really enjoy.”
Brexit hasn’t gone away, and Coveney has built up significant relationships in the last number of years.
Coveney was appointed Tánaiste in the last government in 2017. The Cork South Central TD was first elected to the Dáil in 1998. He lost out to Leo Varadkar in the Fine Gael leadership contest in 2017.
While it had been thought that Wicklow TD Simon Harris would remain on as the Minister for Health, he is taking on the newly created brief of Higher Education.
Harris has been in charge of the Department of Health during the Covid-19 crisis.
Having a new Higher Education seat at the Cabinet table was a red line issue for Fianna Fáil and in particular, Micheál Martin.
Paschal Donohoe became Finance Minister in June 2017, and will stay on in the position for the 33rd Dáil.
Earlier this week, Donohoe put his name forward to become next president of the Eurogroup – the group of finance ministers from the eurozone.
The Public Expenditure Minister is Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath. This position was previously held by Donohoe, but – as happened before in other governments – the role has been split.
Labour’s Brendan Howlin previously held this job when in government with Fine Gael under Enda Kenny. McGrath is also a Cork South-Central TD, and was first elected to the Dáil in the 2007 general election.
A big boost for Fine Gael’s Helen McEntee as she takes over as Justice Minister.
She has served as the Minister for European Affairs throughout the Brexit debacle, and has long been tipped for a ministerial position due to her work in Brussels.
The Meath East TD was previously appointed Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People in May 2016. She was elected in 2013.
The daughter of the late Denis Foley TD, Norma Foley is a first-time TD to the Dáil and a former councillor from Kerry.
Today, Foley nominated Micheál Martin as Taoiseach.
Stephen Donnelly is a relatively new member of the party, but he is set to take over from his constituency colleague Simon Harris.
Donnelly first ran for election as an independent in 2011, and then joined the Social Democrats. He left that party to join Fianna Fáil.
At the Harvard Kennedy School he studied international development.
Roderic O’Gorman is a newly-elected TD for Dublin West. He previously sat on Fingal County Council.
He has worked as a law lecturer in Dublin City University, where he lectures on EU and Planning law and is also a member of DCU’s Brexit Institute.
Heather Humphreys is a TD for Cavan-Monaghan.
She served as the Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation in the last government.
She also served as Minister for Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht and was Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
Darragh O’Brien was Fianna Fáil’s Spokesperson on Housing, Planning and Local Government in the last Dáil – going up against Fine Gael’s Eoghan Murphy.
O’Brien expressed a strong interest in taking on the housing brief.
The Dublin Fingal TD is from Malahide, and was elected to Dáil Eireann in 2007. He served in the Seanad from 2011 to 2016 before regaining his seat.
Barry Cowen is a Laois-Offaly TD and brother of former Taoiseach Brian Cowen.
He has previously held frontbench spokesperson roles on Environment and Local Government, and Social Protection.
Catherine Martin is deputy leader of the Green Party, and is currently in contention with Eamon Ryan for the party leadership.
An English teacher by profession, Martin has represented the constituency of Dublin Rathdown since 2016, having previously served on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
She headed up the Green team in the government formation talks.
Ever since it became known that the Greens might be serious contenders for entering into government, Ryan has been a given for the Climate ministry.
However, throughout the talks it is understood there were calls from his party for the transport brief to be rolled together with Climate Action, as the two are so interlinked.
The Green Party leader, a TD for Dublin Bay South, was a previous Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from 2007 to 2011 under the Bertie Ahern-led FF-Green government.
There had been some speculation the deputy leader of Fianna Fáil Dara Calleary would get the nod in Justice, but he is set to take on the role of Chief Whip.
Calleary is from Ballina in Mayo and has been a TD since 2007.
Paul Gallagher has been appointed as the Government’s new Attorney General.
The Taoiseach announced that Fine Gael’s Hildegarde Naughton will be the Minister of State covering Transport and the Green Party’s Pippa Hackett will be a Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture. Both will be allowed to attend Cabinet.
Speaking at the Convention Centre this evening, Micheál Martin said in the coming week he will announce who else will be appointed as Ministers of State.
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I think the decision to ask people to stay off the roads was a major contributor to the low death toll .
Well done to all the emergency services and to companies who instructed staff to stay home .
Condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones .
@Paddy Hayden: no doubt as also did closing schools/crèches etc. I was put at 8 yesterday morning and it was like Christmas Day. Popped to shop about 11 and it was like an off license on Christmas Eve. The winds were at their worst in the early hours of this morning in north fingal
I agree Paddy. Well done to all. Does anybody feel that those who defied the advice and went swimming or whatever, should be charged with sone type of public order offence ? Like it was crazy to do what some did – idiots !
@Chris Gavican: yes
@Chris Gavican: send them the bill for their rescue, and pursue them through the courts for payment. Might deter other Darwin Award nominees.
@Chris Gavican: They should be made to pay whatever it costs to bring out the emergency services. To unnecessarily put others’ lives at risk, whatever about the stupidity of risking their own lives is criminally reckless.
The pictures of shoppers in Tesco and Lidl are hugely informative. Who knew that is how people shopped in a storm?
@roderick:
Roofs blown off and structural damage in Cork, meanwhile shoppers in Dublin stocked up on their lattes….
@Avina Laaf: I mean it was just one day!
@Avina Laaf: The builders in Cork must be cowboys then. They should learn how to build properly.
It was only one day of the storm but for people living in the country which is where most of the damage was done, it’s up to 10 days without power which also means no water and roads still blocked, so maybe for a change people on here should think of those outside of Dublin.
In fairness the queues are always like that in lidl in Thomas St
The biggest storm I remember was on the night of 31 January 1974. There were 3, 100-year old trees down across the Monkstown road (Co. Dublin). The road was closed for 3 days. On the Vico road above Whiterock beach most of the wires were down from the poles on the road. I lost count of the number of fallen trees I saw all around Co. Dublin. A new housing estate in Portmarnock had most of the roof tiles stripped from many houses. I was driving at 1.30 AM along the Stillorgan road near Foxrock and the trees were meeting each other from both sides of the road forming a tunnel. That road was a much narrower dual carriageway in those days. I’m amazed that this storm is never mentioned when big storms are talked about on radio or television. I have never experienced winds or storms as bad as that one.
So, there was a storm in dublin and cork yesterday, the rest of the country was very lucky !!!
@eamonn farrell: well said eamonn, pics only show dublin and cork, as we know the rest of rural ireland does not matter in some eyes
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