Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

The Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Social Protection of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Social Protection. A Minister of State does not hold cabinet rank.

There are currently two Ministers of State:[1]

  • Joe O'Brien – Minister of State with special responsibility for Community development and charities; and
  • Emer Higgins, TD – Minister of State with special responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail

List of parliamentary secretaries

Department of Social Welfare 1951–1977

Name Term of office Party Government
Michael Kennedy 19 June 1951 2 June 1954 Fianna Fáil 6th[2]
21 March 1957 11 November 1961 8th[3] • 9th[4]
Johnny Geoghegan 9 July 1969 14 March 1973 Fianna Fáil 13th[5]
Frank Cluskey 14 March 1973 5 July 1977 Labour 14th[6]

List of ministers of state

Department of Social Welfare 1980–1997

Name Term of office Party Responsibilities Government
Tom Nolan 25 March 1980 17 December 1980 Fianna Fáil 16th[7][8]
Thomas Hussey 17 December 1980 30 June 1981 Fianna Fáil
Mary Flaherty 30 June 1981 9 March 1982 Fine Gael Poverty and the Family 17th[9]
Denis Gallagher 23 March 1982 27 October 1982 Fianna Fáil Social Welfare Claims 18th[10][11]
Rory O'Hanlon 28 October 1982 14 December 1982 Fianna Fáil Social Welfare Claims
Fergus O'Brien 16 December 1982 15 December 1983 Fine Gael Social Welfare Information 19th[12][13]
John Donnellan 15 December 1983 10 March 1987 Fine Gael Social Welfare Information
Séamus Pattison 15 December 1983 20 January 1987 Labour Social Welfare Administration
Joan Burton 14 January 1993 15 December 1994 Labour EC Poverty Plans and Tax and Social Welfare Codes[14] 23rd[15]
Bernard Durkan 20 December 1994 26 June 1997 Fine Gael 24th[16]

Department of Social and Family Affairs 2007–2010

Name Term of office Party Responsibilities Government
Máire Hoctor 9 July 2007 7 May 2008 Fianna Fáil Older People 27th[17]
13 May 2008 22 April 2009 28th[18][19]
Áine Brady 22 April 2009 9 March 2011 Fianna Fáil Older People and Health Promotion

Department of Social Protection 2010–2017

Name Term of office Party Responsibilities Government
Kevin Humphreys 15 July 2014 6 May 2016 Labour Employment, Community and Social Support[20][21][22] 29th[23]
Finian McGrath 6 May 2016 14 June 2017 Independent Disability Issues[24] 30th[25]

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection 2017–2020

Name Term of office Party Responsibilities Government
Finian McGrath 20 June 2017 27 June 2020 Independent Disability Issues[26] 31st[27]
Pat Breen 20 June 2017 27 June 2020 Fine Gael Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection

Department of Social Protection 2020–present

Name Term of office Party Responsibilities Government
Damien English 19 July 2020 12 January 2023 Fine Gael Employment Affairs and Retail Business 32nd • 33rd[28][29]
Neale Richmond 13 January 2023 10 April 2024 Fine Gael Employment Affairs and Retail Business
Joe O'Brien 19 July 2020 Incumbent Green Community Development and Charities 32nd • 33rd • 34th
Emer Higgins 10 April 2024 Incumbent Fine Gael Business, Employment and Retail 34th

References

  1. ^ "Government Ministers". Government of Ireland. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries – Dáil Éireann (14th Dáil) – Wednesday, 20 June 1951". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Airi agus Rúnaithe Parlaiminte – Dáil Éireann (16th Dáil) – Tuesday, 26 March 1957". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries: Announcement by Taoiseach – Dáil Éireann (16th Dáil) – Tuesday, 30 June 1959". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries – Dáil Éireann (19th Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 9 July 1969. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Appointment of Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries – Dáil Éireann (20th Dáil) – Wednesday, 14 March 1973". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Appointment of Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (21st Dáil) – Thursday, 27 March 1980". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Appointment of Ministers – Dáil Éireann (21st Dáil) – Wednesday, 17 December 1980". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Appointment of Ministers and Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Tuesday, 7 July 1981". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Appointment of Ministers and Minister of State – Dáil Éireann (23rd Dáil) – Tuesday, 23 March 1982". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Nomination of Members of Government: Motion – Dáil Éireann (23rd Dáil) – Wednesday, 27 October 1982". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Appointment of Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (24th Dáil) – Thursday, 16 December 1982". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Ministerial Appointments and Titles – Dáil Éireann (24th Dáil) – Friday, 16 December 1983". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Social Welfare (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 1993". Irish Statute Book. 9 February 1993. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Appointment of Members of Government and Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (27th Dáil) – Wednesday, 10 February 1993". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Appointment of Members of Government and Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (27th Dáil) – Tuesday, 25 January 1995". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Appointment of Members of Government and Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (30th Dáil) – Tuesday, 26 June 2007". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Appointment of Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (30th Dáil) – Tuesday, 13 May 2008". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Appointment of Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (30th Dáil) – Wednesday, 22 April 2009". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Social Protection (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2014". Irish Statute Book. 23 September 2014. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Social Protection (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2015". Irish Statute Book. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  22. ^ "Social Protection (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order 2015". Irish Statute Book. 1 December 2015. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Appointment of Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (31st Dáil) – Tuesday, 15 July 2014". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  24. ^ "Social Protection (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2016". Irish Statute Book. 21 June 2016. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  25. ^ "Appointment of Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil) – Thursday, 19 May 2016". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  26. ^ "Social Protection (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2017". Irish Statute Book. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  27. ^ "Appointment of Members of Government and Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil) – Tuesday, 20 June 2017". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  28. ^ "Minister of State appointments". gov.ie. Department of the Taoiseach. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  29. ^ "Neale Richmond to replace English as junior minister". RTÉ News. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.