No junior ministries for Cavan-Monaghan constituency
The new Ministers of State have been announced tonight, shortly after 10pm.
Neither Brendan Smith (FF) nor his Dáil colleague Niamh Smyth were given a position by their party leader and new Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
The constituency of Cavan Monaghan does have a senior government minister at the cabinet table in the form of Fine Gael's Heather Humpheys as the new Minister for Social Protection.
The final Fianna Fáil junior ministerial line up is: Anne Rabbitte (Galway East), Niall Collins (Limerick), Robert Troy (Longford–Westmeath), Mary Butler (Waterford), Jack Chambers (Dublin-West), Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North-East), and Thomas Byrne (Meath East).
Dara Calleary (Mayo), the Government Chief Whip, is a super junior minister who sits at Cabinet and has responsibility for Sport and the Gaeltacht.
The Fine Gael junior ministers are Colm Brophy (Dublin South-West), Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown), Peter Burke (Longford–Westmeath), Frank Feighan (Sligo–Leitrim), Martin Heydon (Kildare South), Damien English (Meath West) and Patrick O’Donovan (Limerick).
Hildegard Naughton (Galway West) is Fine Gael’s super junior minister at the Cabinet table.
The Green junior ministers are Joe O’Brien (Dublin Fingal), Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire) and Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny).
Senator Pippa Hackett is the party’s super junior at the Cabinet table in the agriculture portfolio.
One Cavan Fianna Fáil party member, who did not wish to be named, said it was a disgrace that Deputy Smith, an experienced TD who previously held the Agriculture portfolio among others, had been left out. “Experience has been ignored in recent years and that’s part of the reason we, as a party, are not in a much stronger position,” they said.
There has been much criticism on the make-up of the new government - with just four female senior ministers appointed to cabinet and no senior ministers from the west of the country - although there are two super juniors in the form of Calleary and Naughton.
Meanwhile, Deputy Brendan Smith told the Celt earlier this week that the task facing the newly formed government is “enormous”.
“There’s a huge programme of work ahead for any government. There are serious crises arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and that has to be the focus, supporting people through these challenging times,” Deputy Smith said.
The former Minister says the priorities identified by the electorate before the previous election; housing, health and investment in rural Ireland are still on the agenda, however the Fianna Fáil deputy says there are other immediate issues to be dealt with: “It’s important businesses are supported to get people back to work, that people who remain out of work due to the pandemic are supported through these challenging times.”
He said it's now important that the new coalition deliver on the programme for government. "That government needs to deliver regardless of the personnel,” said Deputy Smith.