What’s on the agenda in their first 100 days
Taoiseach Micheál Martin
When he announced his Cabinet team on Saturday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin warned they must be committed to working together.
“There is no time for quietly settling in,” he cautioned.
His job will be to make sure his diverse Cabinet from three parties delivers on Programme for Government promises. Mr Martin will have to be seen to drive the recovery from the pandemic, while not forgetting the pre-existing crises in health, housing and a possible no-deal Brexit. It will require all his political talents to ensure a strong start to tackling the issues in the first 100 days of government.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar
As Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister, Mr Varadkar’s immediate task is to deliver the July jobs initiative.
It is to be targeted at the sectors of the economy that have been worst hit by the pandemic.
These include the tourism, hospitality, retail, entertainment and arts sectors.
He will be charged with bringing together businesses and State bodies in order to co-ordinate efforts to help small and medium enterprises.
Legislation needs to be enacted for a €2bn credit guarantee scheme and there is to be a review of grants available to businesses.
Mr Varadkar said the Government “must hit the ground running” to “get people back to work and repair what has been damaged”.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe
The future of the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) is to be set out as part of the July jobs initiative. Mr Donohoe will be working with Fianna Fáil’s Department of Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath and others on this.
He will also have to take a longer view. Budget 2021 is due to be delivered around 100 days from now.
Mr Donohoe will have to work out how to deal with the massive increase in State spending – and borrowing – due to the coronavirus. On top of that a National Economic Recovery Plan is to be set out on Budget Day.
Fiendishly difficult decisions and a busy three months lie ahead.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly
The Department of Health was not short of problems before Covid-19.
Aside from testing and treating coronavirus patients, there is a pressing need to ramp-up nonCovid care in the health service.
Mr Donnelly said yesterday that “Covid has created a perfect storm and we have to react to it quickly”.
He told RTÉ that in the short term, extra capacity must be sought outside the public system so that hospital services can return.
This is due to the need to retain space capacity in case of a second wave of the virus.
He said that Sláintecare plans must be accelerated at the same time.
The annual flu season is something of a looming deadline for the much-needed improvements.
Minister for Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands Heather Humphreys
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys will have to grapple with the thorny issue of the future of the €350-a-week Covid19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) in a lot less than 100 days.
As it stands, the payment is currently only due to continue until August 10.
The Government is hoping that many of the more than 460,000 people who got the PUP last week will be back in work by then, given that most businesses are now allowed to reopen.
But it’s by no means certain that they will be, with the hospitality industry on its knees.
“There’s going to be a major focus on getting people back to work,” Ms Humphreys said last night.
Minister for Education Norma Foley
Fianna Fáil’s Norma Foley, who is a school teacher and first-time TD, was the big surprise among Mr Martin’s announcements on Saturday.
She has perhaps one of the greatest current challenges in government – how to get hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren back to their classrooms in just two months.
The last government’s goal was a full return to schools with coronavirus safety measures in place by the end of August.
With responsibility for higher education hived off elsewhere, we can expect that Ms Foley’s every waking hour will be spent on this task.
Parents, teachers and children will be anxiously hoping that she provides the solutions.
Minister for Climate Action, Communications Networks and Transport Eamon Ryan
The Programme for Government includes a commitment to set down in law how Ireland will reduce carbon emissions to a net zero by 2050 within the coalition’s first 100 days in office.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 7pc a year was the big Green demand to enter government and the party leader will have to deliver on it.
Mr Ryan will also have to urgently deal with the easing of restrictions on non-essential international travel imposed due to the coronavirus.
A ‘green list’ of countries for travel without quarantine restrictions on return is to be drawnupbyJuly9.
Mr Ryan indicated a cautious approach.