Three senior Fine Gael ministers are beginning their first day with new portfolios, following a mini Cabinet reshuffle after the departure of Paschal Donohoe from Government.
Tánaiste Simon Harris is taking up his new role as Minister for Finance. It is expected that he will be introducing himself to EU finance ministers later today, after having made contact with key domestic stakeholders in the Central Bank and the National Treasury Management Agency.
The new Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence Helen McEntee has said that the Occupied Territories Bill will be one of the very first things she will raise with her departmental officials when she meets them later.
Meanwhile, Hildegarde Naughton has been promoted to Cabinet taking the Minister for Education and Youth brief.
The Cabinet moves came after former minister for finance Paschal Donohoe resigned from Government to take up the second most senior position in the World Bank, as Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer. His departure will also bring about a by-election in Dublin Central.
Yesterday, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said Government was clinging to power. “The Finance Minister is taking his leave. Oh, that the rest of ye would follow.”
She criticised what she said “may well be the worst government in the history of the State – because no government has presided over such a combination of record crises, hollow promises, and stubborn inaction.”
Minister McEntee has contended that the changes in Fine Gael Cabinet ministers will not destabilise the Coalition or lead to any delays.
“We will get on with the business that we’ve been elected to – and that’s exactly what we’ll do,” she said.
Speaking this morning, the new Minister for Education said that from her work in the Department of Disability “up to yesterday” and previously as a minister with responsibility for special education, “I have a 360 degree understanding of disability in particular”.
Asked on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland if she would guarantee that all children with additional needs would get the place they need in the school, Minister Naughton said: “Yes, that’s the position I want to be in.”
The minister said she had already started work in that area in her previous roles “making sure that parents didn’t have to apply to numerous schools, which is not only time consuming, but very, very stressful for them”.
Ms Naughton said extra funding in the Budget should allow the National Council for Special Education to have the data in relation to children starting primary school, “so it’s not a mystery come September in relation to the numbers of children who need special school places or school places around the country”.
The former primary school teacher also said the progress has been made in reducing the teacher/student ratio and said she believed that teachers are being paid enough.
“I know there’s extra pressures … right across every single sector, but I know from my own time as a teacher, yes they are [paid enough] and we need to make sure that we’re continuing to educate our teachers … and preparing for the needs of our students coming down the track and that includes special education as well.”
Ms Naughton said she will be “hitting the ground running” and meeting department officials and colleagues over the coming days.
McEntee says she will raise Occupied Territories Bill
The new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence has said that the Occupied Territories Bill will be one of the very first things she will raise with her departmental officials when she meets them later.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Prime Time last night, Helen McEntee said: “We have made a very clear commitment that we will pass it. It’s just gone through scrutiny, through the Joint Oireachtas Committee.
“They have made recommendations and we need to take those onboard.”
Asked if she will ensure that the legislation will be passed before the end of the year, as called for by five Opposition parties earlier this week, Ms McEntee replied: “Well, what I’m committed to is passing it.”
Ms McEntee said she wanted to thank Mr Donohoe for his work in Government, saying: “He worked extremely hard and has gained a huge amount of respect – not just at home but on the European stage, and the international stage.”
She indicated that the new Minister for Finance Simon Harris intends to continue in the same vein as Mr Donohoe: “Simon was very clear – we haven’t gotten to where we are today, economically, by accident.
“It has been because of those prudent decisions, by being careful and by…having a surplus.”
Govt ‘clinging to power’ – McDonald
Speaking in the Dáil after Mr Donohoe’s announcement, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “Today, we must confront honestly the record of the Government that he leaves behind – a record defined not by service, not by ambition, but by a relentless commitment to clinging to power at all costs.”
“This may well be the worst government in the history of the State – because no government has presided over such a combination of record crises, hollow promises, and stubborn inaction.
“Today, the Finance Minister is taking his leave. Oh, that the rest of ye would follow.”
Ms McDonald did add she has been “constituency colleagues in Dublin Central” with Mr Donohoe for many years and that she does “wish him, his wife and his family well, and I genuinely hope the next chapter in their lives brings them good health and happiness”.
Fine Gael’s candidate in the Dublin Central by-election is expected to be councillor and current Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam. Sinn Féin will contest for a second seat in the constituency.
Read more: Donohoe departure leads to significant Cabinet changes
Additional reporting Paul Cunningham