Cormac McQuinn
O’Callaghan among the heavy hitters overlooked for Cabinet
A STRING of Fianna Fail heavy hitters including high-profile TDs such as Jim O’Callaghan and Thomas Byrne have been left out of Taoiseach Micheal Martin’s new Cabinet.
Fianna Fail TDs were said to be “perplexed” by Martin’s choices as deputy leader Dara Calleary was appointed Government Chief Whip rather than landing a senior ministerial portfolio and other senior figures such as Anne Rabbitte didn’t make the cut.
At the same time, a generational shift has seen senior Fine Gael politicians emerge as some of the biggest losers left out of the new coalition Cabinet.
Richard Bruton, Charlie Flanagan, Michael Ring and Michael Creed were among a series of hugely experienced Fine Gael TDs who lost out.
There was shock among many in Fianna Fail at Jim O’Callaghan’s absence from Cabinet.
Seen by some as Fianna Fail’s leader-in-waiting, the Dublin Bay South TD and barrister is the party’s biggest name not to feature in Cabinet.
He appears to have been sidelined in recent times and was not part of Fianna Fail’s government formation negotiating team.
Martin instead elevated first-time TD Norma Foley to head up the Department of Education, while Stephen Donnelly — a relatively recent addition to the party after he left the Social Democrats — was appointed as Minister for Health.
Both appointments raised eyebrows in the party as frontbenchers such as Charlie McConalogue, Jack Chambers and Robert Troy also missed out.
Rabbitte’s absence has also puzzled some as she had been a member of the party’s coalition negotiations team. Her status as a West of Ireland TD and one of the few senior women TDs in Martin’s team meant she was being tipped for a Cabinet role.
The Government has already come under fire for the lack of senior ministers hailing from the West.
Fianna Fail’s outgoing education spokesman Thomas Byrne will be disappointed not to land a Cabinet post despite the new Government creating two portfolios in the education sector.
He also had to watch as his constituency rival, Fine Gael’s Helen McEntee, was promoted to the senior role of Justice Minister.
Those who lost out on senior appointments will be anxiously waiting for the new Taoiseach to name up to 20 Ministers of State in the coming days.
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar also had difficult choices to make when selecting Fine Gael Cabinet ministers and had to drop several members of the last government.
Supporters of outgoing Climate Action Minister Richard Bruton had been lobbying for his inclusion in recent days, given the key role he’s seen as playing in helping to get the Green Party into the coalition.
Bruton, who has been a TD since 1982, last night tweeted: “It has been a privilege to serve under four Taoisigh — Garret [Fitzgerald], John [Bruton], Enda [Kenny] and Leo [Varadkar].
“We have helped deliver huge changes in Irish society during that time and there is still so much more for the 33rd Dail to achieve”.
Charlie Flanagan was magnanimous in congratulating his successor as Minister for Justice, saying he wished Helen McEntee “every success”.
He also said: “I have been privileged to have served and I really enjoyed six busy years in two great Departments of State, Justice and Foreign Affairs.”
It wasn’t just long-serving Fine Gael TDs who have been dropped.
Outgoing Culture Minister Josepha Madigan — who had been elevated to Cabinet as a first-time TD during the last Dail — has also lost her seat at the table.
She is expected to be appointed as a junior minister next week.
Madigan also said it was a “privilege” to serve and she wished her successor — constituency rival and Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin — well in the role.
There was also no space for one of Tanaiste Leo Varadkar’s key allies, the outgoing Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, though it’s been reported that this was expected and that he’s been lined up for a role within Fine Gael.
There would have been less disappointment in the Green Party, given that the vast majority of its 12 TDs are first-time deputies.
Finance spokesperson Neasa Hourigan — who opposed the government deal despite being part of the team that negotiated it — does not feature on the Green team in Cabinet.
Regional TDs such as Brian Leddin and Marc O Cathasaigh lost out to the Offaly-based Senator Pippa Hackett for the party’s ‘‘super junior’’ slot, causing some upset in the party.
‘There is still so much more for the 33rd Dail to achieve’