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

Helen McEntee Source: Niall Carson

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly) - Minister of State for Health Promotion

Marcell Corcoran Kennedy TD, Taoiseach Enda Kenny and party Chairman Charlie Flannigan. Source: Niall Carson

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central) - Minister of State for Communities and the National Drug Strategy

Catherine Byrne TD Source: PA Archive/Press Association Images

John Halligan (Independent Alliance – Waterford) - Minister of State for Training and Skills

Independent Alliance's John Halligan Source: Leah Farrell

Sean Canney (Independent Alliance – Galway East) - Minister of State for the OPW and Flood Relief

Sean Canney (left) Source: Leah Farrell

Seán Kyne (Galway West) - Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs

Source: Sean Kyne TD/YouTube

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South) - Minister of State at the Department of Finance

Source: Niall Carson

David Stanton (Cork East) - Minister of State for Equality, Immigration and Integration

David Stanton TD Source: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow) - Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture

Andrew Doyle TD Source: /Photocall Ireland

Pat Breen (Clare) - Minister of State for Employment and Small Business

Pat Breen (right) with Joe Biden earlier this month.

Damien English (Meath West) - Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal

Source: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central) - Minister for EU Affairs, Data Protection and the EU Single Market

Source: Facebook

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East) - Minister of State for the Diaspora and Overseas Development Aid

Source: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Patrick O’Donovan (Limerick)- Minister of State for Tourism & Sport

Source: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland

Michael Ring (Mayo) - Minister for Rural and Economic Development

Source: Sam Boal

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

Source: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland

Finian McGrath – Minister of State for Disability 

Source: Sam Boal

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>