We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THIS AFTERNOON, Micheál Martin will become the next Taoiseach of Ireland.
The Fianna Fáil leader has been Tánaiste since December 2022 and previously to that, he served as Taoiseach for two years.
A new Cabinet will also be formed today, with speculation rife about who might be getting moved up the political ladder.
It will be a busy day in Leinster House, but The Journal will be bringing you all the latest as it happens throughout the day.
The day will officially kick off at 11am in Leinster House, with the business of the day the first thing on the agenda.
Expect some fireworks from the get-go, with members of the Opposition due to raise serious concerns about some members of the Regional Independent group getting Oppositing speaking time, despite them being in the room for government formation talks.
Sinn Féin will nominate Mary Lou McDonald, but she won’t have the numbers.
Fianna Fáil will nominate Martin as the next Taoiseach, and TDs will then cast their vote on whether or not they want to see him become Taoiseach.
Fianna Fáil won the most seats in the Dáil following the general election, winning 48 seats while Sinn Féin – the main opposition party in the last Dáil – won 39.
Fine Gael was third with 38 seats, so with the addition of support from the Independents, Martin will have a majority in the House to get him over the line and into the top job.
After the Dáil voting process is complete, probably around 1.30pm, Martin will make his way to Áras an Uachtaráin where he will be formally appointed Taoiseach by President Micheal D. Higgins.
After this, Martin will then return to Government Buildings, and begin summoning his new Cabinet members to his office to tell them what ministry they will be getting.
The Dáil begins again at 5.30pm, where it is expected that the new Cabinet members will be voted for and approved by the Dáil. A debate on their appointment will follow.
The new ministers will then travel to the State Reception Room in Áras an Uachtaráin where the president will then present each minister with their Seal of Office.
The incoming Tánaiste is expected to take on a beefed-up foreign affairs brief, with a focus on trade and diplomatic relations as the political world faces a difficult few years.
Fianna Fáil are minded to hold on to the Housing department brief, with speculation that Darragh O’Brien will stay on as minister.
Education Minister Norma Foley is also tipped to stay at the Cabinet table, though there is uncertainty as to whether she will stay in her current position with talk that she could be the new Social Protection and Rural Affairs Minister or possibly take on the Higher Education brief.
Names in the mix and being talked about for promotion are Fianna Fáil’s James Browne, Mary Butler, James Lawless, Niall Collins and Dara Calleary and Thomas Byrne, with some mentioning Catherine Ardagh as a possible newcomer. In terms of Fine Gael options, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Martin Heydon, Hildegarde Naughton and Alan Dillon are also being mentioned.
One ministry that is under the spotlight is Agriculture, with some within both parties stating that Heydon might be elevated to the role, however, some state the moving of Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McConalogue would be deemed unfair.
It is believed that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will exchange a number of Cabinet departments, such as the Justice brief and possibly the Health portfolio.
Dublin Bay South TD Jim O’Callaghan has been mentioned as a possible Justice Minister, but there are mixed views around Leinster House as to whether he could get the nod as the next Attorney General. Most are saying that it would be an unusual move by the party leader, but it would result in the party having another Cabinet position.
The current Justice Minister, Fine Gael’s Helen McEntee, is speculated to be the next Enterprise Minister, though there’s some mutterings she might move to Education.
Meanwhile, Carroll MacNeill is being tipped for Health, although some within her party state that it is not a portfolio she would be pushing for.
As reported by The Journal previously, the current Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth will be split, with Integration set to move to the Department of Justice.
During the government formation talks, there were split views among the negotiating teams on whether to put the energy brief into Department of Enterprise, but it’s believed it might not be tacked on now.
Disability and Children will form one department, but it remains to be seen who what party might take on the department, which will cover an area which was one of the central debates in the general election.
In terms of the Department of Finance, it is expected that Paschal Donohoe will take back his old job, with Fianna Fáil’s Jack Chambers heading up the beefed up Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery.
A separate Department of infrastructure, which Simon Harris wanted to establish, is not on the cards.
Donohoe and Chambers’ roles are expected to rotate alongside the Taoiseach rotation, with the draft programme for government stating that Micheál Martin will leave the Taoiseach’s job on 16 November 2027.
You can keep up with all the latest as it happens by following our liveblog throughout the day.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Too complex..Just type as is…
My keys are extremely sticky, albeit for very different reasons!
There are sticky keys on my keyboard but they are not from Microsoft
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say