New European Affairs role for  Longford/Westmeath TD Peter Burke as Varadkar unveils junior ministers

An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, has formally appointed additional Ministers of State and assigned their responsibilities. Longford/Westmeath TD Peter Burke has been appointed to the prestigious role of new European Affairs Minister.

The Fine Gael representative takes on his new portfolio having been Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning for the last two and half years.

Mr Varadkar's team of junior ministers sees changes to the EU brief, the junior housing role, and responsibility for integration.

Two Fine Gael TDs have been promoted to junior ministers, and two have been dropped: Frank Feighan is no longer drugs minister and Colm Brophy has been dropped as junior foreign affairs minister.

Kieran O’Donnell, chair of the Oireachtas transport committee, has been promoted to a junior ministry, with responsibility for local government and planning.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill was also promoted to a junior ministry, with responsibility for financial services, credit unions and insurance.

Sean Fleming, who had held that role, is now junior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs, holding responsibility for international development and the diaspora.

Peter Burke, former junior housing minister, is the new minister for EU affairs.

Thomas Byrne, the Fianna Fail TD who had held the EU role, has been appointed minister of state for sport and physical education.

Hildegarde Naughton, who was appointed as chief whip on Saturday, is now also a junior minister for public health, well-being and the national drugs strategy.

Patrick O’Donovan, who remains as minister of state for the office of public works, is now also in charge of the Gaeltacht brief.

Among the junior ministers whose brief has not changed are: junior minister for special education and inclusion Josepha Madigan; junior enterprise minister Damien English; junior minister for mental health Mary Butler; and junior disabilities minister Anne Rabbitte.

Dara Calleary, ex-agriculture minister and former Fianna Fail deputy leader, has also retained the junior ministry with responsibility for trade promotion and digital transformation.

Green Party TD Joe O’Brien, who remains as the junior minister for community development and charities, is also taking on the integration role within the Department of Children.

There were no other change to the junior ministry roles held by Green Party members.

On Saturday, former chief whip Jack Chambers was appointed junior minister for road transport and logistics.

Speaking this evening the Taoiseach said: “I wish the newly-appointed Ministers of State well in their portfolios. We have strong talent and ability from across the three Government parties.

“Having emerged from Covid we face major challenges in the years ahead. As I said on Saturday, we are living in an age of emergencies: climate, the war in Ukraine, housing, the cost of living, child poverty. There are also threats to the economy and employment, affecting every community in our country.

“We must treat each challenge as a national emergency and deploy the full resources of the State, the full machinery of Government, to make an immediate and real difference. These Ministers of State will play a vital role in that response, and in delivering the remainder of the Programme for Government.”

Hildegarde Naughton, already appointed to the Department of the Taoiseach as Government Chief Whip, has been assigned additional responsibilities to also be a Minister of State at the Department of Health (Public Health, Well Being and the National Drugs Strategy).

The Government previously appointed Jack Chambers as Minister for International & Road Transport & Logistics at the Department of Transport, as well as Minister for Postal Policy at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, and Senator Pippa Hackett as Minister for Land Use and BioDiversity at the Department of Agriculture.

The other appointments comprise:

Peter Burke T.D. - Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs (EU Affairs) and the Department of Defence

Patrick O'Donovan T.D. - Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (OPW) and Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (Gaeltacht)

Ossian Smyth T.D. - Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (Public Procurement and eGovernment) and Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (Communications and Circular Economy)

Josepha Madigan T.D. - Department of Education (Special Education and Inclusion)

Martin Heydon T.D. - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Research and Development, Farm Safety and New Market Development)

Anne Rabbitte T.D. - Department of Health and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Disability)

Sean Fleming T.D. - Department of Foreign Affairs (International Development and Diaspora)

Joe O'Brien T.D. - Department of Rural and Community Development and Department of Social Protection (Community Development and Charities) and Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Integration)

Kieran O’Donnell T.D. - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Local Government and Planning)

Malcolm Noonan T.D. - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Heritage and Electoral Reform)

Damien English T.D. - Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Employment Affairs and Retail Business) and Department of Social Protection

Mary Butler T.D. - Department of Health (Mental Health and Older People)

Thomas Byrne T.D. - Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (Sport and Physical Education)

Niall Collins T.D. - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science (Skills and Further Education)

Jennifer Carroll-MacNeill T.D. - Department of Finance (Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance)

James Browne T.D. - Department of Justice (Law Reform and Youth Justice)

Dara Calleary T.D. - Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Trade Promotion and Digital Transformation)