FIANNA FÁIL TD Catherine Ardagh has been appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Justice.

The Dublin South-Central TD was elected to the Dáil in 2024, but previously served as a senator. 

Limerick TD and Junior Minister Niall Collins will move from his current role in the Department of Justice to the Department of Agriculture.

He will fill the position vacated by Kerry TD Michael Healy Rae who resigned from his role in government in the aftermath of the fuel protests. 

Healy-Rae said at the time he felt he was a gauge for rural Ireland, and he believed the government had left the people of Ireland behind. 

Ardagh said she is delighted to be appointed to the role, stating that she looks forward to applying both her legal expertise and understanding she has gained from working closely with people across her constituency.

“I am also looking forward to working alongside my colleague Minister Jim O’Callaghan as we progress some of the important work underway in this area.

“Over the coming weeks, I will be taking time to immerse myself fully in the portfolio, engage with stakeholders and set out the priorities that I will share then.”

Collins said as a public representative for a rural constituency “in the heart of the Golden Vale with over 5,000 farm families, I look forward to building on the work done already in the Department of Agriculture and to getting stuck into my new brief, which covers areas of significant importance that go right to the heart of rural Ireland”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Ardagh brings considerable experience in the legal profession, as a qualified solicitor, and from her campaigning on health and social issues.

He said Collins will bring great experience to a wide-ranging role in his new department that impacts on economic development, climate, forestry and food production.