The minister for enterprise, tourism and employment () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.
The current minister for enterprise, tourism and employment is Peter Burke, TD.
He is assisted by two ministers of state: Niamh Smyth, TD – Minister of State for trade promotion, artificial intelligence and digital transformation Alan Dillon, TD – Minister of State for small businesses and retail
Overview The minister heads one of the most important economic departments in the Irish Government, responsible for the implementation of policy in five key areas – Enterprise, Innovation, Growth; Quality, Work and Learning; Making Markets and Regulation work better; Quality, Value and Continuous Improvement; and the European Union. A large element of the work of the Department arises from Ireland's membership of a number of international organisations, in particular the European Union and the World Trade Organization. The Department plays an active role in the development of EU and WTO policies, particularly to ensure that Ireland's interests are protected. The Department is organised into five divisions. They are:
Innovation and Investment Division Enterprise and Trade Division Commerce, Consumer and Competition Division Employment Rights and Industrial Relations Division Corporate Services
List of office-holders
Director of Trade and Commerce 1919–1921NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Ernest Blythe17 June 191926 August 1921 2nd DMSecretary for Trade and Commerce 1921–1922NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Ernest Blythe26 August 192111 January 1922 3rd DMMinister for Trade 1922NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Ernest Blythe11 January 192230 August 1922 4th DM1st PGMinister for Industry and Commerce 1922–1977NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Joseph McGrath30 August 19227 March 1924 2nd PG5th DM1st EC2nd ECPatrick McGilligan4 April 19249 March 1932 2nd EC3rd EC4th EC5th ECSeán Lemass (1st time)9 March 193216 September 1939 6th EC7th EC8th EC1st2ndSeán MacEntee16 September 193918 August 1941 2ndSeán Lemass (2nd time)18 August 194118 February 1948 2nd3rd4thDaniel Morrissey18 February 19487 March 1951 5thThomas F. O'Higgins7 March 195113 June 1951 5thSeán Lemass (3rd time)13 June 19512 June 1954 6thWilliam Norton2 June 195420 March 1957 7thSeán Lemass (4th time)20 March 195723 June 1959 8thJack Lynch23 June 195921 April 1965 9th10thPatrick Hillery21 April 196513 July 1966 11thGeorge Colley13 July 19669 May 1970 12th13thPatrick Lalor9 May 197014 March 1973 13thJustin Keating14 March 19735 July 1977 14thDesmond O'Malley (1st time)5 July 197723 September 1977 15thMinister for Industry, Commerce and Energy 1977–1980NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Desmond O'Malley23 September 197723 January 1980 15th16thMinister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism 1980–1981NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Desmond O'Malley23 January 198030 June 1981 16thJohn Kelly30 June 198121 August 1981 17thMinister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism 1981–1983NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)John Kelly21 August 19819 March 1982 17thDesmond O'Malley (2nd time)9 March 19826 October 1982 18thPaddy Power7 October 198227 October 1982 18thPádraig Flynn (1st time)27 October 198214 December 1982 18thFrank Cluskey14 December 19828 December 1983 19thGarret FitzGerald 8 December 198313 December 1983 19thJohn Bruton13 December 198317 December 1983 19thMinister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism 1983–1986NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)John Bruton17 December 198314 February 1986 19thMichael Noonan14 February 198619 February 1986 19thMinister for Industry and Commerce 1986–1993NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Michael Noonan19 February 198610 March 1987 19thAlbert Reynolds10 March 198724 November 1988 20thRay Burke24 November 198812 July 1989 20thDesmond O'Malley (3rd time)12 July 19894 November 1992 21st22ndPádraig Flynn (2nd time)5 November 19924 January 1993 22ndBertie Ahern4 January 199312 January 1993 22ndRuairi Quinn12 January 199321 January 1993 23rdMinister for Enterprise and Employment 1993–1997NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Ruairi Quinn21 January 199317 November 1994 23rdCharlie McCreevy18 November 199415 December 1994 23rdRichard Bruton (1st time)15 December 199426 June 1997 24thMary Harney26 June 199712 July 1997 25thMinister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment 1997–2010NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Mary Harney12 July 199729 September 2004 25th26thMicheál Martin29 September 20047 May 2008 26th27thMary Coughlan7 May 200823 March 2010 28thBatt O'Keeffe23 March 20102 May 2010 28thMinister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation 2010–2011NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Batt O'Keeffe2 May 201020 January 2011 28thMary Hanafin20 January 20119 March 2011 28thRichard Bruton (2nd time)9 March 20112 June 2011 29thMinister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation 2011–2017NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Richard Bruton (2nd time)2 June 20116 May 2016 29thMary Mitchell O'Connor6 May 201614 June 2017 30thFrances Fitzgerald 14 June 20172 September 2017 31stMinister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation 2017–2020NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Frances Fitzgerald 2 September 201728 November 2017 31stLeo Varadkar 28 November 201730 November 2017 31stHeather Humphreys 30 November 201727 June 2020 31stMinister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment 2020–2025NameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Leo Varadkar 27 June 202017 December 2022 32ndSimon Coveney 17 December 20229 April 2024 33rdPeter Burke 9 April 202423 January 202534thMinister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment 2025–presentNameTerm of officePartyGovernment(s)Peter Burke 23 January 2025Incumbent35th Notes
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External links