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A Minister of State (Irish: Aire Stáit) in Ireland (also called a junior minister) is of non-cabinet rank attached to one or more Departments of State of the Government of Ireland and assists the Minister of the Government responsible for that Department.

Appointment

Unlike senior government ministers, which are appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach and the prior approval of Dáil Éireann, Ministers of State are appointed directly by the government, on the nomination of the Taoiseach. Members of either House of the Oireachtas (Dáil or Seanad) may be appointed to be a Minister of State at a Department of State; to date, the only Senator appointed as Minister of State has been Pippa Hackett, who was appointed in June 2020 to the 32nd government of Ireland. Ministers of State continue in office after the dissolution of the Dáil until the appointment of a new Taoiseach. If the Taoiseach resigns from office, a Minister of State is also deemed to have resigned from office.^[1]

Powers and duties of a Government Minister may be delegated to a Minister of State by a statutory instrument.^[2] If the Government Minister resigns, these powers must delegated again on the appointment of a new Government Minister.^[3] Some Ministers of State are de facto department heads. In the 31st government, Leo Varadkar was the Minister for Defence as well as Taoiseach but the day-to-day running of the Department of Defence was administered by Paul Kehoe, the Minister of State at the Department of Defence.

History

The Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 allowed the Executive Council (from 1937, the government of Ireland) to appoint up to seven Parliamentary Secretaries to the Executive Council or to Executive Ministers, who held office during the duration of the government and while they were a member of the Oireachtas.^[4] This position was abolished by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, which created the new position of Minister of State.^[5] This Act was commenced on 1 January 1978.^[6]

In the 1977 Act, the number of Ministers of State was limited to 10. In 1980 this was raised to 15, in 1995 it was raised to 17, and in 2007 it was raised to 20.^[7]^[8]^[9] On 21 April 2009, Brian Cowen asked all 20 Ministers of State to resign, and he re-appointed a reduced number of 15 ministers the following day, when the Dáil resumed after the Easter recess.^[10]^[11] In July 2020, the new government appointed 20 Ministers of State.

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn was the first woman to be appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary, when she was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce by Jack Lynch in 1977 (becoming Minister of State at the Department of Industry, Commerce and Energy in 1978). In 1979, Geoghegan-Quinn would become the first women appointed to cabinet since 1921.

Ministers of State attending cabinet

The Government Chief Whip is a Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and attends cabinet. The current Chief Whip is Hildegarde Naughton.

Since the Rainbow Coalition formed in 1994, several governments have appointed additional Ministers of State with permission to attend cabinet but not to vote. Ministers of State attending cabinet, other than the Chief Whip, are often described as super junior ministers or super juniors.^[12] Up to three Ministers of State attending cabinet may receive an allowance.^[13]^[14] Ministers of State attending cabinet in the 33rd government are:^[15]

Hildegarde Naughton – Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach
Dara Calleary – Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Pippa Hackett – Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

References

^ "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, Section 1: Appointment of Ministers of State". Irish Statute Book. 6 December 1977. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^ "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, SIs made under the Act". Irish Statute Book. 6 December 1977. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^ "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, Section 2: Delegation of powers and duties of Ministers of the Government to Ministers of State". Irish Statute Book. 6 December 1977. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^ "Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924, Section 7: Power to Executive Council to appoint Parliamentary Secretaries". Irish Statute Book. 21 April 1924. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^ "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, Section 6: Repeals". Irish Statute Book. 6 December 1977. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^ "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977 (Commencement) Order 1977". Irish Statute Book. 13 December 1977. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^ "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1980, Section 2: Not more than 15 Ministers of State may be appointed". Irish Statute Book. 18 March 1980. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^ "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1995, Section 1: Amendment of section 1 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977". Irish Statute Book. 27 January 1995. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^ "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2007, Section 1: Increase in number of Ministers of State appointed by Government". Irish Statute Book. 7 July 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^ "Number of junior ministers to be cut". RTÉ News. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
^ "Two new junior ministers revealed". RTÉ News. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
^ "No changes for Noonan and Howlin in reshuffle". RTÉ News. 15 July 2014.
^ Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001, s. 40: Amendment of the 1998 Act — insertion of section 3A (allowances payable to certain Ministers of State) (No. 33 of 2001, s. 40). Enacted on 16 July 2001. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 August 2020.
^ Ministers and Secretaries and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act 2020, s. 2: Amendment of section 3A of Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act 1998 (No. 10 of 2020, s. 2). Enacted on 2 August 2020. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 August 2020.
^ Oireachtas (Allowances) (Members and Holders of Parliamentary and Certain Ministerial Offices) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 613 of 2020). Signed on 8 December 2020. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 29 December 2020.

[1] "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, Section 1: Appointment of Ministers of State". Irish Statute Book. 6 December 1977. Retrieved 20 April 2020.

[2] "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, SIs made under the Act". Irish Statute Book. 6 December 1977. Retrieved 20 April 2020.

[3] "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, Section 2: Delegation of powers and duties of Ministers of the Government to Ministers of State". Irish Statute Book. 6 December 1977. Retrieved 20 April 2020.

[4] "Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924, Section 7: Power to Executive Council to appoint Parliamentary Secretaries". Irish Statute Book. 21 April 1924. Retrieved 20 April 2020.

[5] "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, Section 6: Repeals". Irish Statute Book. 6 December 1977. Retrieved 20 April 2020.

[6] "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977 (Commencement) Order 1977". Irish Statute Book. 13 December 1977. Retrieved 20 April 2020.

[7] "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1980, Section 2: Not more than 15 Ministers of State may be appointed". Irish Statute Book. 18 March 1980. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

[8] "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1995, Section 1: Amendment of section 1 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977". Irish Statute Book. 27 January 1995. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

[9] "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2007, Section 1: Increase in number of Ministers of State appointed by Government". Irish Statute Book. 7 July 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

[10] "Number of junior ministers to be cut". RTÉ News. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2009.

[RTE_20090422-11] "Two new junior ministers revealed". RTÉ News. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2009.

[super1-12] "No changes for Noonan and Howlin in reshuffle". RTÉ News. 15 July 2014.

[13] Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001, s. 40: Amendment of the 1998 Act — insertion of section 3A (allowances payable to certain Ministers of State) (No. 33 of 2001, s. 40). Enacted on 16 July 2001. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 August 2020.

[14] Ministers and Secretaries and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act 2020, s. 2: Amendment of section 3A of Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act 1998 (No. 10 of 2020, s. 2). Enacted on 2 August 2020. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 August 2020.

[15] Oireachtas (Allowances) (Members and Holders of Parliamentary and Certain Ministerial Offices) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 613 of 2020). Signed on 8 December 2020. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 29 December 2020.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Non-cabinet rank minister in Ireland}}
-{{about|the current definition of "Minister of State"|the pre-1977 definition|Department of State (Ireland)}}
+{{about|the current definition of "Minister of State"|the pre-1977 definition|Minister of the Government}}
-__NOTOC__
+{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
+{{Use Hiberno-English|date=December 2021}}
 {{PoliticsRofI}}
-A '''Minister of State''' ({{lang-ga|Aire Stáit}}) in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] (also called a '''junior minister''') is of non-[[Cabinet rank]] attached to one or more [[Department of State (Ireland)|Departments of State]] of the [[Government of Ireland]] and assists a [[Minister (government)|Minister]] of that Government.
+A '''Minister of State''' ({{langx|ga|Aire Stáit}}) in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] (also called a '''junior minister''') is of non-cabinet rank attached to one or more [[Department of State (Ireland)|Departments of State]] of the [[Government of Ireland]] and assists the [[Minister of the Government]] responsible for that Department.
 ==Appointment==
-Unlike other government ministers who are appointed by the [[President of Ireland]] on the [[advice (constitutional)|advice]] of the [[Taoiseach]], with the prior nomination of [[Dáil Éireann]], Ministers of State are appointed by the cabinet, on nomination of the Taoiseach. The role of a Minister of State is similar to that of a Minister of State (or "junior minister") in the [[Government of the United Kingdom]]. It is ''not'' equivalent to that of a United Kingdom [[Secretary of State (United Kingdom)|Secretary of State]], who holds a cabinet-level post corresponding to that of a [[Minister (government)|Government Minister]] in Ireland.
+Unlike senior government ministers, which are appointed by the [[President of Ireland]] on the [[advice (constitutional)|advice]] of the [[Taoiseach]] and the prior approval of [[Dáil Éireann]], Ministers of State are appointed directly by the government, on the nomination of the Taoiseach. Members of either House of the [[Oireachtas]] (Dáil or [[Seanad Éireann|Seanad]]) may be appointed to be a Minister of State at a Department of State; to date, the only Senator appointed as Minister of State has been [[Pippa Hackett]], who was appointed in June 2020 to the [[32nd government of Ireland]]. Ministers of State continue in office after the dissolution of the Dáil until the appointment of a new Taoiseach. If the Taoiseach resigns from office, a Minister of State is also deemed to have resigned from office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1977/act/28/section/1/enacted/en/html|title=Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, Section 1: Appointment of Ministers of State|website=[[Irish Statute Book]]|date=6 December 1977|access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref>
+Powers and duties of a Government Minister may be delegated to a Minister of State by a [[statutory instrument]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/isbc/1977_28.html#associatedsecondary|title=Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, SIs made under the Act|website=Irish Statute Book|date=6 December 1977|access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref> If the Government Minister resigns, these powers must delegated again on the appointment of a new Government Minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1977/act/28/section/2/enacted/en/html|title=Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, Section 2: Delegation of powers and duties of Ministers of the Government to Ministers of State|website=Irish Statute Book|date=6 December 1977|access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref> Some Ministers of State are {{lang|la|de facto}} department heads. In the [[31st government of Ireland|31st government]], [[Leo Varadkar]] was the [[Minister for Defence (Ireland)|Minister for Defence]] as well as [[Taoiseach]] but the day-to-day running of the [[Department of Defence (Ireland)|Department of Defence]] was administered by Paul Kehoe, the [[Minister of State at the Department of Defence]].
-Members of either House of the [[Oireachtas]] (Dáil or [[Seanad Éireann|Seanad]]) may be appointed to be a Minister of State at a Department of State, however to date no senator has been appointed. Like a Senior Minister, Ministers of State continue in office after the dissolution of the Dáil until a successor is appointed. If the Taoiseach resigns from office, a Minister of State is also deemed to have resigned from office.
 ==History==
+The [[Ministers and Secretaries Acts|Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924]] allowed the [[Executive Council of the Irish Free State|Executive Council]] (from 1937, the government of Ireland) to appoint up to seven [[Parliamentary secretary|Parliamentary Secretaries]] to the Executive Council or to Executive Ministers, who held office during the duration of the government and while they were a member of the Oireachtas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1924/act/16/section/7/enacted/en/html|title=Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924, Section 7: Power to Executive Council to appoint Parliamentary Secretaries|website=Irish Statute Book|date=21 April 1924|access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref> This position was abolished by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, which created the new position of Minister of State.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1977/act/28/section/6/enacted/en/html|title=Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977, Section 6: Repeals|website=Irish Statute Book|date=6 December 1977|access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref> This Act was commenced on 1 January 1978.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1977/si/378/made/en/print|title=Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977 (Commencement) Order 1977|website=Irish Statute Book|date=13 December 1977|access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref>
-The post of Minister of State was created by the ''Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1977'' and commenced in 1978, and under the Act a Minister of State may be delegated a power or duty of the Minister of the Government they support. The position was created to replace the post of [[Parliamentary secretary]], the junior rank of ministers which had existed from 1922 until 1978. In the [[Irish Free State]], the [[Ministers and Secretaries Acts|Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924]] created the post of Parliamentary secretary, originally limited to seven holders.
-In the original act of 1977 the number of Ministers of State was limited to 10, but in 1980 this was raised to 15, and in 1995 it was raised to 17, and in 2007 it was raised to 20. [[Brian Cowen]] asked all 20 Ministers of State to resign on 21 April 2009. He re-appointed a reduced number of 15 ministers the following day, when the [[Dáil]] resumed after the Easter recess.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0406/ministers.html|title=Number of junior ministers to be cut|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=6 April 2009|accessdate=6 April 2009}}</ref><ref name=RTE_20090422>{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0422/politics.html|title=Two new junior ministers revealed|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=22 April 2009|accessdate=23 April 2009}}</ref> As of June 2017, there are 19 Ministers of State.
+In the 1977 Act, the number of Ministers of State was limited to 10. In 1980 this was raised to 15, in 1995 it was raised to 17, and in 2007 it was raised to 20.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1980/act/2/section/2/enacted/en/html|title=Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1980, Section 2: Not more than 15 Ministers of State may be appointed|website=Irish Statute Book|date=18 March 1980|access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1995/act/1/section/1/enacted/en/html|title=Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1995, Section 1: Amendment of section 1 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977|website=Irish Statute Book|date=27 January 1995|access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2007/act/33/section/1/enacted/en/html|title=Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2007, Section 1: Increase in number of Ministers of State appointed by Government|website=Irish Statute Book|date=7 July 2007|access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref> On 21 April 2009, [[Brian Cowen]] asked all 20 Ministers of State to resign, and he re-appointed a reduced number of 15 ministers the following day, when the [[Dáil]] resumed after the Easter recess.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0406/ministers.html|title=Number of junior ministers to be cut|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=6 April 2009|access-date=6 April 2009}}</ref><ref name=RTE_20090422>{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0422/politics.html|title=Two new junior ministers revealed|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=22 April 2009|access-date=23 April 2009}}</ref> In July 2020, the [[32nd government of Ireland|new government]] appointed 20 Ministers of State.
+[[Máire Geoghegan-Quinn]] was the [[List of female ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland|first woman to be appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary]], when she was appointed as [[Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment|Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce]] by [[Jack Lynch]] in 1977 (becoming Minister of State at the Department of Industry, Commerce and Energy in 1978). In 1979, Geoghegan-Quinn would become the [[List of female cabinet ministers of the Republic of Ireland|first women appointed to cabinet since 1921]].
-==Super Junior==
-Some Ministers of State attend cabinet meetings but do not have a vote. The [[Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach|Government Chief Whip]] automatically attends and starting in the 1990s some governments appointed an additional Minister of State with permission to attend cabinet but not vote thereat. Two were appointed in 2016 upon [[Enda Kenny]]'s re-election.
+==Ministers of State attending cabinet==
-The Ministers, other than the [[Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach|Chief Whip]] are usually described as a "Super Junior" minister.<ref name=super1>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2014/0711/630136-reshuffle/|title=No changes for Noonan and Howlin in reshuffle|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=15 July 2014}}</ref> or sometimes more formally as "Minister of State attending cabinet". The Super Juniors of the [[Government of the 32nd Dáil#31st Government of Ireland|31st Government ]] are:
-*[[Paul Kehoe]] ([[Fine Gael]]), [[Minister of State at the Department of Defence]]
+The Government [[Chief Whip]] is a [[Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach]] and attends cabinet. The current Chief Whip is [[Hildegarde Naughton]].
-*[[Finian McGrath]] (Independent), [[Minister of State for Disability Issues]]
-*[[Mary Mitchell O'Connor]] (Fine Gael), Minister of State for Higher Education
+{{anchor|Super junior}}<!--[[Super junior minister]] redirects here-->Since the [[24th government of Ireland|Rainbow Coalition]] formed in 1994, several governments have appointed additional Ministers of State with permission to attend cabinet but not to vote. Ministers of State attending cabinet, other than the [[Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach|Chief Whip]], are often described as '''super junior ministers''' or '''super juniors'''.<ref name=super1>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2014/0711/630136-reshuffle/|title=No changes for Noonan and Howlin in reshuffle|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=15 July 2014}}</ref> Up to three Ministers of State attending cabinet may receive an allowance.<ref>{{cite Irish legislation|year=2001|number=33|section=40|name=Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001|stitle=Amendment of the 1998 Act — insertion of section 3A (allowances payable to certain Ministers of State)|date=16 July 2001|access-date=21 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite Irish legislation|year=2020|number=10|section=2|name=Ministers and Secretaries and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act 2020|stitle=Amendment of section 3A of Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act 1998|date=2 August 2020|access-date=21 August 2020}}</ref> Ministers of State attending cabinet in the [[33rd government of Ireland|33rd government]] are:<ref>{{cite Irish legislation|year=2020|type=si|number=613|name=Oireachtas (Allowances) (Members and Holders of Parliamentary and Certain Ministerial Offices) Order 2020|date=8 December 2020|access-date=29 December 2020}}</ref>
-Some Ministers of State are ''de facto'' department heads. In the 31st Government, [[Leo Varadkar]] is the [[Minister for Defence (Ireland)|Minister for Defence]] but the day to day running of the department is done by Paul Kehoe, the Minister of State for Defence.
+*[[Hildegarde Naughton]] – Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach
+*[[Dara Calleary]] – Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
-==See also==
+*[[Pippa Hackett]] – Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
-*[[Ministers of State of the 32nd Dáil]] 2016–present
-*[[Ministers of State of the 31st Dáil]] 2011–16
-*[[Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach]]
-*[[Minister of State at the Department of Finance]]
-*[[Minister of State for European Affairs]]
-*[[Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture]]
-*[[List of Parliamentary Secretaries of Ireland]]
 ==References==
 {{Reflist}}
-==External links==
-*[http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1977/en/act/pub/0028/index.html Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1977]
 {{Ministers of State of Ireland}}
-[[Category:Ministers of State of Ireland| ]]
+[[Category:Ministers of state of Ireland| ]]
 [[Category:Politics of the Republic of Ireland]]

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