By Cillian Sherlock, PA
Taoiseach Simon Harris has reshuffled senior roles at Cabinet, with new ministers for enterprise and further education selected.
Hours after being appointed on Tuesday, new Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris made significant changes to a selection of Cabinet positions held by his party.
Mr Harris engaged in a series of meetings with hopeful candidates at Government Buildings in Dublin before announcing the promotions in the Dáil.
Peter Burke was appointed as Minister for Enterprise, a position which was recently vacated by Simon Coveney.
Mr Harris gave his former role of Minister for Further Education to Patrick O’Donovan, in a promotion for the Limerick TD who held the position of Minister of State for the Office of Public Works (OPW).
While there had been speculation that Hildegarde Naughton may have been promoted from her current junior minister role directly to a Cabinet post, no such change was announced.
Instead, Ms Naughton will take on the role as Minister of State for Special Education and leave her current position as junior minister at the Department of Health.
She also retained her position as Government chief whip, which already sees her sitting at Cabinet as a so-called super junior.
The role as Minister of State for Special Education was left vacant after Josepha Madigan announced last month that she was resigning from the position and would not contest the next election.
Mr Burke’s promotion left his junior non-Cabinet role of Minister of State for European Affairs vacant, but Mr Harris announced it would be filled by Jennifer Carroll Mac Neill – who had been a Minister of State with responsibility for Financial Services.
The announcement of the new minister of state alongside the other senior roles came as the Taoiseach signalled an increased emphasis on the position.
However, it means Ms Carroll Mac Neill misses out on a seat at Cabinet.
Helen McEntee retained her justice portfolio amid much speculation on her role, as Mr Harris set out an ambition to refocus his party on “law and order”.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys also held on to their positions.
In addition, the reshuffle marks the final day in Cabinet for ex-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Mr Coveney.
Mr Varadkar shocked the Irish political sphere last month when he announced he was stepping down as the leader of Fine Gael and resigning as Taoiseach, saying he no longer felt he was the best person for the job.
Within hours, it became clear that Mr Harris had secured enough support to succeed Mr Varadkar.
However, amid speculation that Mr Harris would not allow Fine Gael ministers to continue in their roles if they did not commit to running in the next general election, Mr Coveney announced that he would be stepping down as enterprise minister.
The Cork South-Central TD, who was the deputy leader of Fine Gael under Mr Varadkar, said he was stepping aside to “make it easier” for Mr Harris to promote fresh talent.
Mr Coveney, tánaiste, has said he has not decided on whether he will run in the next election.
Further changes to junior minister-of-state roles will be announced on Wednesday with speculation focused on potential roles for Fine Gael TDs Alan Dillon, Neale Richmond, Emer Higgins and Colm Burke.
Ms Carroll MacNeill’s role as junior minister at the Department of Finance as well as Mr O’Donovan’s former role as minister of state for the OPW remain up for grabs.
Ms Naughten’s former role as Minister of State for Public Health is also now vacant.
Mr Harris’ appointments to these positions could cause a further cascade down the line, with Mr Richmond already holding a junior role.
Positions held by ministers from the other coalition parties were unchanged and Mr Harris also renominated current Attorney General Rossa Fanning.
