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Here are your new junior ministers
These are the backbenchers who just got a promotion today.
TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY has today appointed his Ministers of State.
13 of the jobs went to his party colleagues, while two were give to independents.
Kenny had 36 backbenchers to consider, but awarded the 15 promotions to:
Helen McEntee (Meath East) - Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People
Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly) - Minister of State for Health Promotion
Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central) - Minister of State for Communities and the National Drug Strategy
John Halligan (Independent Alliance – Waterford) - Minister of State for Training and Skills
Sean Canney (Independent Alliance – Galway East) - Minister of State for the OPW and Flood Relief
Seán Kyne (Galway West) - Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs
Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South) - Minister of State at the Department of Finance
David Stanton (Cork East) - Minister of State for Equality, Immigration and Integration
Andrew Doyle (Wicklow) - Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture
Pat Breen (Clare) - Minister of State for Employment and Small Business
Damien English (Meath West) - Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal
Dara Murphy (Cork North Central) - Minister for EU Affairs, Data Protection and the EU Single Market
Joe McHugh (Donegal North East) - Minister of State for the Diaspora and Overseas Development Aid
Patrick O’Donovan (Limerick)- Minister of State for Tourism & Sport
Michael Ring (Mayo) - Minister for Rural and Economic Development
Three junior ministers had already been announced a couple of weeks ago, when we found out the Cabinet of the 32nd Dáil. They were:
Regina Doherty – Chief Whip
Paul Kehoe - Minister of State for Defence
Finian McGrath – Minister of State for Disability
Addressing the Dáil this evening, the Taoiseach said the government had expanded the number of ministers of state by three. He said this would aid the government in achieving measures outlined in the programme for government, with a specific focus on particular policy areas like health.
Labour Party Leader Joan Burton was critical of the line up, pointing out that there is no minister for the arts.
Yesterday she remarked that the arts portfolio had been diluted by “cramming more and more responsibilities into the same government department”. She also said the programme for government was lacking when it comes to providing supports to allow the arts to flourish and grow.
Alone, the charity for older people, also expressed disappointment that there is no Cabinet-level minister with responsibility for the ageing demographic.
“Every year there is an extra 20,000 older people in Ireland, and this figure is expected to continue growing exponentially,” commented CEO Sean Moynihan.
“In such a climate the government should be prioritising the needs of older people and strategically planning for the future. This new government needs to act now to plan for our ageing demographic and this is why we feel that a minister with sole responsibility for older people is required.”
- With reporting by Michelle Hennessy.
Read: Who’s in? Who’s out? These are your new ministers>
