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A Department of State (Irish: Roinn Stáit) of Ireland is a department or ministry of the Government of Ireland. The head of such a department is a minister termed a Minister of the Government; prior to 1977 such ministers were called Ministers of State, a term now used for junior (non-cabinet) ministers.^[1] Most members of the government are Ministers of the Government, though there may occasionally be a minister without portfolio who does not head a department of state. The law regarding the departments of state and ministers of the government is based in the Constitution of Ireland, primarily in Article 28; legislative detail is given in the Ministers and Secretaries Acts 1924 to 2020.

Overview

There are eighteen individual departments of state in the Irish Government. Each department is led by a Minister of the Government, who is appointed by the President on the nomination of the Taoiseach and approval of Dáil Éireann, and cover matters that require direct political oversight. For all departments, the Minister in question is known as Minister for … and is a member of the cabinet, formally known as the Government of Ireland; a cabinet-level minister without a department is called a minister without portfolio, though the only permanent appointment on this basis was during The Emergency, between 1939 and 1945. A Minister of the Government is usually supported by one or more Ministers of State, also known as junior ministers, and may delegate powers to these ministers in accordance with law.

Under the Constitution, there may be no fewer than seven, and no more than fifteen members of the cabinet. Three of the current fifteen ministers are responsible for two departments each.

A Minister of the Government has the power to suggest and propose new or amended legislation to the Government relating to matters that arise in their own department. Ministers are also entitled to make statutory instruments, also known as delegated or secondary legislation. Statutory instruments allow the minister to give effect to or implement legislation without passage through the Oireachtas. Statutory instruments do not have to be approved by the Oireachtas, although they may be cancelled by either the Dáil or the Seanad and may not supplant the role of primary legislation.

Each department of state has a permanent staff that remains in office regardless of changes in government or the Oireachtas. The departments' staff are described as the civil service. The administrative management of the department is led by a senior civil servant known as a secretary-general. These officials advise and assist the minister in the running of the department.

The names and functions of the separate departments of states have in some cases changed significantly from their creation. The transfer of functions between departments usually occurs on the formation of a new government by an incoming Taoiseach, but can be done at any stage, such as during a cabinet reshuffle. The Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has created guidelines of best practice for the management of these transfers.^[2]

List of departments of state

Current departments of state, listed under their present title.^[3]

Department of State	Creation	Incumbent Minister	Ministerial Office
Agriculture, Food and the Marine	1919	Charlie McConalogue	Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Defence	1919	Micheál Martin	Defence
Finance	1919	Jack Chambers	Finance
Foreign Affairs	1919	Micheál Martin	Foreign Affairs
Enterprise, Trade and Employment	1919	Peter Burke	Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Housing, Local Government and Heritage	1919	Darragh O'Brien	Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Justice	1919	Helen McEntee	Justice
Education	1921	Norma Foley	Education
Environment, Climate and Communications	1921	Eamon Ryan	Environment, Climate and Communications
Taoiseach	1924	Simon Harris	Taoiseach
Health	1947	Stephen Donnelly	Health
Social Protection	1947	Heather Humphreys	Social Protection
Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth	1956	Roderic O'Gorman	Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Transport	1973	Eamon Ryan	Transport
Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media	1977	Catherine Martin	Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform	2011	Paschal Donohoe	Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform
Rural and Community Development	2017	Heather Humphreys	Rural and Community Development
Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science	2020	Patrick O'Donovan	Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science

Past Departments of state, listed under their final title

Department of state	Operation	Functions transferred to
Department of Posts and Telegraphs	1922–1984	Department of Communications
Department of Supplies	1939–1945	Department of Industry and Commerce
Department of Transport	1959–1984	Department of Communications
Department of Equality and Law Reform	1966–1997	Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform
Department of Communications	1984–1991	Department of Tourism, Transport and Communications