Coveney made Tánaiste in bid to heal party and enhance Brexit efforts
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar moved to unify the wounded Fine Gael party by appointing Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney as Tánaiste.
Mr Coveney succeeds Frances Fitzgerald as Tánaiste following her dramatic resignation over her handling of the Garda whistleblower affair.
The move was part of a mini-reshuffle ordered by Mr Varadkar, whose credibility has been damaged by his failure to sack Ms Fitzgerald after it emerged she was aware of the Garda strategy to aggressively pursue Sgt Maurice McCabe at the O’Higgins Commission.
The Taoiseach appointed Cavan-Monaghan TD Heather Humphreys as the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation – the role previously held by Ms Fitzgerald.
He also promoted first time TD Josepha Madigan to Cabinet.
Ms Madigan, a deputy for Dublin-Rathdown, will take over the Arts, Culture and Gaeltacht portfolio.
Making the announcements in the Dáil, Mr Varadkar said his decision to appoint Mr Coveney as Tánaiste would enhance Ireland’s Brexit efforts.
But politically, the move will assist Mr Varadkar in unifying the party and appeasing supporters of Mr Coveney, who have felt somewhat isolated after the Cork South Central TD was defeated by Mr Varadkar in the recent Fine Gael leadership contest.
“It was a smart move by Leo, who knows he has had a torrid week,” said one Coveney loyalist.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin congratulated Mr Coveney, who is a TD in the same constituency.
He quipped: “I’m glad that the Taoiseach is at last beginning to recognise the reservoir of talent that resides in the county of Cork.”
Mr Varadkar said the move to appoint Ms Humphreys to the business portfolio meant the post would be held by a minister outside of Dublin for the first time in seven years.
The Fine Gael leader informed the Dáil that Ms Madigan, a trained solicitor, will also chair a new cabinet sub-committee on the issue of gender equality.
Ms Madigan’s appointment was challenged by Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger, who criticised her record on Travellers’ rights.
She was referring to a controversy prior to Ms Madigan’s election, when she released a newsletter in which she described the building of Traveller accommodation in her constituency as a “waste of money”.
At the time, Ms Madigan denied that it was anti-Traveller.
Ms Madigan has been a highly effective backbencher, bringing forward legislation on divorce and the issue of contempt of court when it comes to social media.
After the unveiling, the ministers travelled to Áras an Uachtaráin, and received their seals of office from President Michael D Higgins.