Hildegarde may be out as Harris mulls over reshuffle of his Cabinet ministers
Chief whip beginning to look like biggest casualty of Simon’s new broom after his coronation on Tuesday
SPECULATION is mounting that Government chief whip Hildegarde Naughton could be the biggest casualty of incoming Taoiseach Simon Harris’s Cabinet reshuffle of Fine Gael ministers.
Such a move would prove to be contentious, as it would leave the Cabinet without a senior minister west of the Shannon.
However, sources said the demotion of the Galway West TD could be offset by the promotion of Limerick-based OPW Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan.
But this would still mean Connacht would have no representation in Cabinet.
Sources close to the new Fine Gael leader this weekend said Mr Harris is likely to keep Helen McEntee (Justice), Paschal Donohoe
(Public Expenditure) and Heather Humphreys (Social Protection) in their current portfolios.
With Mr Harris’s vacant ministry of Higher Education and Simon Coveney’s announcement that he is stepping aside as Enterprise Minister, this leaves two senior Cabinet positions up for grabs.
Sources yesterday said Enterprise is likely to go to the Minister of State for Europe, Peter Burke, who has experience working in the Department of Finance and is a qualified accountant.
Higher Education is set to be filled by a TD from Munster, where there are only three outgoing Fine Gael deputies standing in the next General Election; Patrick O’Donovan (Limerick County), Kieran O’Donnell (Limerick City) and Colm Burke (Cork North Central).
The favourite is understood to be Mr O’Donovan, who hasn’t always appeared close to the incoming Taoiseach, but who would be regarded by some as covering the west in the event of Ms Naughton – currently Minister of State in the Department of Health but who sits at Cabinet as a ‘super-junior’ by virtue of being chief whip – being demoted.
Senior party sources said demoting a woman from Cabinet would be offset by the promotion of Junior Finance Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to chief whip.
However, another source stressed Mr Harris ‘hasn’t made up his mind fully’ on Ms Naughton yet, while many expected Justice Minister McEntee, who survived a vote of no confidence last December, to be demoted or transferred to a less high-profile portfolio, but sources have indicated that she is unlikely to be moved.
One senior source told the MoS: ‘Would it help Simon or the Government for someone else to go into Justice? Probably not.
‘A brand new minister in there [Justice], who has never had experience in Cabinet with ten or 11 months left to a general election would not be something Simon thinks is wise. It’s still not fully decided, but Helen will definitely remain in Cabinet and we’re fairly certain it will be in Justice.’
Minister Donohoe – who heads the influential Eurogroup of finance ministers – is also safe.
Mr Harris pointedly praised Mr Donohoe in his speech at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis at NUI Galway last night.
A source close to the Fine Gael leadership told the MoS: ‘We will not be moving a minister who was the president of the Eurogroup.
‘The place on the Eurogroup is not transferrable. Paschal will be staying.’
Speaking about the incoming Taoiseach’s delicate balancing act when it comes to reshuffling his ministerial deck of cards, a source said: ‘The different things you have to factor in are, in Justice, new broom versus experience. Then you have Munster versus Dublin, and of course gender.’
However, those advising Mr Harris also noted some unusual matters have to be considered.
‘There are 33 Fine Gael TDs; 11 of them aren’t seeking re-election. That’s 22, one of them is Simon Coveney, that’s 21; one of them is Leo Varadkar, and one of them is Simon Harris, so that’s 19,’ a source said.
‘He has eight junior ministries and six senior ministries, that’s 13
‘Helen will definitely remain in Cabinet’
[excluding role of Taoiseach]. So he has 13 posts to fill, and the pool of eligible candidates isn’t that broad. So his options are quite limited if part of the criteria is you must be willing to run the next election.’
In terms of his policy objectives, Mr Harris last night vowed to significantly revise the Government’s house-building targets upwards from 40,000 to 50,000 a year over the next five years if he is returned to power.
Addressing his first Ard Fheis as party leader, Mr Harris said: ‘I am of a generation where home ownership can feel out of the reach of many. To young people, I want you to know your future is here in Ireland. And I want your parents to know we will move mountains to get the children out of the box room and into a home of their own. ‘We have to fix housing for once and for all.’
In a claims that will be contested by many, Mr Harris claimed Fine Gael has been a success in addressing the unprecedented housing crisis that has unfolded during its time in successive governments.
‘Under Fine Gael, the number of homes being built has increased sixfold; the number of social homes has increased more than tenfold,’ he said.
‘But we need more homes and more home ownership. We will build 250,000 homes over the next five years.’
Another key part of Mr Harris’s speech was a promise to clean up
‘We have to fix housing for once and for all’
the streets and rid them from crime, especially those in the capital.
The 37-year-old, who will become the country’s youngest ever Taoiseach on Tuesday, added: ‘Under my leadership, Fine Gael will always stand for law and order. We stand for more gardaí, with more powers and more resources to make our streets safe.
‘We stand for tougher sentences for those who commit horrific crimes.
‘I will fast-track legislation to give judges new powers to make sure heinous criminals serve long sentences before they are even considered for release.
‘Under my leadership we will increase the number of prison spaces.’
He also promised to deliver much-needed equipment to help gardaí fight crime: ‘This summer, we will bring in body cameras and up-to-date technology to help gardaí.’
Mr Harris vowed to bring forward initiatives to deal with inner city crime.
‘We will bring forward new measures to increase penalties for knife crime and new measures on antisocial behaviour which has become too dominant in our communities. ‘Children are being groomed into a life of crime through the scourge of drugs affecting our communities.
‘Crime breeds violence, coercion and devastation.’
The incoming Taoiseach also announced plans to establish a new body charged with returning ‘pride’ to Dublin.
Referring to the shameful rioting that engulfed the capital during the riots last November, Mr Harris said: ‘We witnessed thugs and criminals set fire to our capital city. They destroyed businesses. Garda cars. Without a care in the world.
‘As Taoiseach, I will immediately convene a Dublin City Centre taskforce bringing together the Council, retailers, business, community groups and gardaí to chart a path towards a safer and vibrant Dublin.
‘It is time to have pride again in our capital city.’
Aside from boosting law and order, Mr Harris also vowed to increase supports for farmers in what was very much a ‘back to basics’ manifesto for the Fine Gael leader.
He said: ‘I have been engaging with the farming community as I do regularly across Wicklow. Fine Gael is the party of farmers, fishermen and rural Ireland. It has been a brutal year for farmers, the weather has been awful. You need help, and we will respond. Under my leadership, I will look at practical supports to help farming community.’
He noted agriculture ‘is a vital part of our economy’, adding: ‘Your work must be rewarded and valued.’
In a sideways dig at his Green Party Coalition partners, he added: ‘I want to say to farmers and to rural Ireland, Fine Gael will never talk down to you on climate action.
‘We will sit down and work with you and for you.
‘I want to engage in a new partnership on agriculture where farmers are central to the changes we are making. For example, I want to implement the agri-environment strategies – such as the biomethane strategy – so farmers can earn a good income while protecting our environment.
‘I will work with you and support you so that, together, we retain Ireland’s nitrates derogation which is necessary for our agri-food sector.’
In a further appeal to rural voters, Mr Harris said: ‘Don’t worry, I may be leaving my current Department [of Higher Education], but I will be making sure we establish new vet schools in rural Ireland.
‘And to the people of rural Ireland – I want to say Fine Gael has got your back.’