Deputy Feighan ‘hopeful’ of getting the call as a Minister of State
Deputy Frank Feighan says he is “hopeful” of earning a promotion when the junior ministers in the new government are announced.
While the historic coalition arrangement involving Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, along with the Green Party, was the major point of note over the weekend, it was somewhat overshadowed by the huge outrage which greeted the make-up of the new Cabinet. It includes no senior minister from the province of Connacht.
Indeed, the entire western seaboard from Donegal to Limerick is without a senior position, though Mayo TD Dara Calleary (FF) will sit at Cabinet as a Chief Whip, while Galway West’s Hildegarde Naughton (FG) has super junior status. Neither, however, will have voting rights.
Deputy Feighan, who is the sole Fine Gael TD in Sligo-Leitrim, believes that the lack of representation in the west may be offset by the appointment of junior ministers from this region.
It is understood that as many as 20 junior minsters - also known as Ministers of State - could be appointed. Reports suggest that the new line-up will be revealed later this week.
“I’m hopeful of getting a promotion,” Deputy Feighan told The Sligo Champion on Monday.
“One never knows how these things will unfold. I was hopeful before.”
The lack of a senior ministry for the west of Ireland was the major talking point of Micheal Martin’s ministerial selection - Deputy Feighan too was of the belief that Fianna Fáil’s deputy leader, Dara Calleary, would have been allocated a department.
“It has come as a surprise, I would have assumed Dara Calleary would have been at senior cabinet and I think most people in government assumed that.
“However he is sitting at the Cabinet table so he will be a voice at the cabinet table. But that’s a matter for Micheal Martin.
“This is a government of three parties, Fine Gael had huge representation over the last nine years with the Taoiseach and senior ministers and junior ministers who delivered, but this is a different government so it’s a different arrangement that people are used to.
“You’d always like to have senior ministers, but I hope the Taoiseach can compensate by appointing junior ministers.”