The 33rd government of Ireland (17 December 2022 to 9 April 2024) was led by Varadkar as Taoiseach and Martin as Tánaiste. It lasted 480 days. Varadkar resigned as leader of Fine Gael on 20 March 2024 and was succeeded on 24 March by Simon Harris. Varadkar resigned as Taoiseach on 8 April.[6]
The 34th government of Ireland (9 April 2024 to present) is led by Simon Harris as Taoiseach and Martin as Tánaiste. It has lasted 289 days to date. Harris resigned as Taoiseach on 18 December 2024 on the morning of the first meeting of the 34th Dáil after the 2024 general election. Harris and the other members of the government will continue to carry out their duties until the appointment of their successors.
The election resulted in Fianna Fáil remaining as the largest party, increasing its number of seats to 48. Its governing partner Fine Gael won 38 seats, with the two parties combined winning 86 seats, two shy of a majority.[10][11] The Green Party, the third party of government, lost all but one of its seats, with only leader Roderic O'Gorman returning to the Dáil.[12]Sinn Féin remained as the second largest party, winning 39 seats,[11] while the Social Democrats and Labour each won 11 seats, an increase of five each.[13]
On 15 January 2025, the formation of a coalition government was agreed between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and nine independents.[14]
Born in Cork, Martin initially worked as a teacher before entering politics. He was elected to Cork City Council in 1985, and served as Lord Mayor of Cork from 1992 to 1993. In 1989, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann for Cork South-Central, a seat he has represented ever since. After the victory of Fianna Fáil at the 1997 election, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern appointed Martin to the Cabinet as Minister for Education and Science. In 2000, Martin was appointed Minister for Health and Children. In 2004, during his time as Health Minister, Martin was notable for introducing a ban on tobacco smoking in all Irish workplaces, making Ireland the first country in the world to introduce a full workplace smoking ban. In the same year, Martin established the Health Service Executive. He served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 2004 to 2008, before being appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs by Ahern's successor, Brian Cowen. In 2009, Martin became the first Irish foreign minister to travel to Latin America, during which time he also made the first official visit to Cuba by any Irish minister. Martin also visited Khartoum during his time as Foreign Minister, following the kidnapping of Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki.
In January 2011, Martin resigned as Foreign Minister in protest at Cowen's leadership. Following Cowen's own resignation as Leader of Fianna Fáil, Martin was quickly elected to replace him. Weeks later, at the 2011 general election, Martin led Fianna Fáil to the worst result in its 85-year history, with a loss of 57 seats and a popular vote of just 17.4%. He nevertheless remained in the leadership, becoming Leader of the Opposition. At the 2016 general election, Fianna Fáil's performance improved significantly, more than doubling their representation in the Dáil: Martin continued to serve as Leader of the Opposition.
Martin led his party through the 2020 general election, which led to Fianna Fáil becoming the largest party in the Dáil by just one seat.[18][a] After lengthy negotiations, he was appointed Taoiseach on 27 June 2020, leading a grand coalition with longtime rival party Fine Gael, marking the first time these two parties had governed together, along with the Green Party. Under the terms of the coalition agreement, Martin served as Taoiseach for the first half of the five-year term, with his predecessor Leo Varadkar as Tánaiste.[20] Martin resigned as Taoiseach on 17 December 2022 to facilitate the appointment of Varadkar to the office.[21]
In the 2024 general election, Fianna Fáil achieved the most seats in the Dáil; as such, Martin is expected to become the next Taoiseach once a new coalition is formed.[22] He continues to serve as Tánaiste in the current government until a new government is formed.
^Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil each had 37 TDs elected but as Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail, a Fianna Fáil member, was automatically returned, this left Fianna Fáil as the largest party in the Dáil.[19]
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