Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach

The minister of state at the Department of the Taoiseach is a junior ministerial post in the Department of the Taoiseach of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Taoiseach.

The position was first created in 1922 as Parliamentary secretary to the President of the Executive Council. In 1937, following the adoption of the Constitution of Ireland, the position was changed to that of Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach. In 1978, the position was superseded by the office of Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach.

One of the Ministers of State in this department is assigned the role of Government Chief Whip and is the most senior minister of state in the government of Ireland. They attend cabinet meetings, but do not have a vote and are not one of fifteen members of the government. The role of the Whip is primarily that of the disciplinarian for all government parties, to ensure that all deputies, including ministers, attend for Dáil Business and follow the government line on all issues.

The incumbent government chief whip is Mary Butler, TD, and the deputy chief whip is Emer Currie.

Responsibilities of Government Chief Whip The main responsibilities of the Chief Whip include:

Attendance at Government meetings The Chief Whip is a Minister of State who attends Government meetings, but does not have a vote. The title is sometimes given as "Minister of State, attending Government". Other Ministers of state with the title "Minister of State, attending Government" are commonly known as super junior ministers.

Preparation of weekly brief for Taoiseach on legislation in preparation Before each Dáil Session letters are sent to all Ministers to see what legislation or other business their department expects to place before the Dáil. A weekly report on what stage Bills are at is given to the Taoiseach. During the Order of Business the Taoiseach is often queried about what legislation is promised. The weekly report shows what Bills are promised and gives an expected date of publication of the Bill.

Scheduling and monitoring of Dáil business Once a bill has been published and is placed on the Dáil Order Paper the staff in the Whip's office keep in touch with Minister's Private Secretaries about when they wish to have their bill taken in the Dáil - sometimes the Whip's office have to insist that a bill is taken on a certain day, particularly when there is not much business for the House. Every Wednesday the Private Secretary prepares an agenda (called a schedule - see example) for each sitting day of the following week. This is discussed at a meeting of the Dáil Business Committee, which includes the whips of the major parties, including the government (Fianna Fáil) chief whip; Fine Gael whip; Sinn Féin whip and Labour Party whip.

Operation of the pairing system A pair is an arrangement whereby a Government Deputy's name is linked with an Opposition Deputy in the event of a Vote arising. The practice is that under such an arrangement neither Deputy votes in any Division arising while the pairing agreement is valid. Because it is obviously so important for the Government to maintain its majority in the Dáil Chamber the pairing arrangements must be attended to very carefully. If a member cannot attend a notice explaining their absence must be sent to the Chief Whip as early as possible.

Leinster House accommodation for political parties The minister has to ensure that facilities and services in Leinster House are satisfactory for members and staff. The Opposition Whips liaise with him on matters such as office equipment which they may require.

Chairing Legislation Committee The Chief Whip chairs the weekly meeting of the Legislation Committee. This Committee meets to discuss the progress of Bills in Departments and tries to ensure that there is always enough business for the Dáil and Seanad. The meeting is attended by the Attorney General, a Parliamentary Draftsman, Programme Manager to the Taoiseach, Programme Manager to the Tánaiste, Principal Officer in this Department (who looks after legislation) and the Chief Whip.

List of government chief whips Parliamentary Secretary to the President 1922–1937NameTerm of officePartyExecutive CouncilDaniel McCarthy6 December 192231 March 1924 1st2ndJames Dolan19 June 192424 June 1927 2ndEamonn Duggan24 June 19279 March 1932 3rd4th5thGerald Boland9 March 19327 February 1933 6thPatrick Little8 February 193329 December 1937 7th8thParliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach 1937–1977NameTerm of officePartyGovernmentPatrick Little29 December 193726 September 1939 1st2ndPaddy Smith27 September 19392 July 1943 2ndEamon Kissane2 July 194318 February 1948 3rd4thLiam Cosgrave18 February 194813 June 1951 5thDonnchadh Ó Briain13 June 19512 June 1954 6thDenis J. O'Sullivan2 June 195420 March 1957 7thDonnchadh Ó Briain20 March 195711 October 1961 8th9thJoseph Brennan11 October 196121 April 1965 10thMichael Carty21 April 19652 July 1969 11th12thDesmond O'Malley2 July 19697 May 1970 13thDavid Andrews8 May 197014 March 1973 13thJohn M. Kelly14 March 197320 May 1977 14thPatrick Lalor5 July 19771 January 1978 15thMinisters of State at the Department of the Taoiseach 1978–presentNameTerm of officePartyGovernmentPatrick Lalor1 January 19781 July 1979 15thMichael Woods1 July 197911 December 1979 15thSeán Moore13 December 197930 June 1981 16thGerry L'Estrange30 June 198111 November 1981 17thFergus O'Brien11 November 19819 March 1982 17thBertie Ahern9 March 198214 December 1982 18thSeán Barrett14 December 198213 February 1986 19thFergus O'Brien13 February 198610 March 1987 19thVincent Brady10 March 198714 November 1991 20th21stDermot Ahern15 November 199111 February 1992 21stNoel Dempsey11 February 199215 December 1994 22nd23rdSeán Barrett15 December 199423 May 1995 24thJim Higgins24 May 199526 June 1997 24thSéamus Brennan26 June 19976 June 2002 25thMary Hanafin6 June 200229 September 2004 26thTom Kitt29 September 20047 May 2008 26th27thPat Carey7 May 200823 March 2010 28thJohn Curran23 March 20109 March 2011 28thPaul Kehoe9 March 20116 May 2016 29thRegina Doherty6 May 201614 June 2017 30thJoe McHugh14 June 201716 October 2018 31stSeán Kyne16 October 201827 June 2020 31stDara Calleary27 June 202015 July 2020 32ndJack Chambers15 July 202017 December 2022 32ndHildegarde Naughton17 December 202223 January 2025 33rd34thMary Butler23 January 2025Incumbent35th

Other ministers of state at the Department of the Taoiseach 1986–present NameTerm of officePartyResponsibilityGovernmentSeán Barrett13 February 198610 March 1987 Dáil Reform19thNuala Fennell16 December 198210 March 1987 Women's Affairs and Family Law ReformTed Nealon16 December 198210 March 1987 Arts and CultureMáire Geoghegan-Quinn12 March 198712 July 1989 Co-ordination of Government policy and EC matters20th19 July 198915 November 199121stNoel Treacy30 June 198812 July 1989 Heritage20thBrendan Daly19 July 198911 February 1992 Heritage21stMichael P. Kitt15 November 199111 February 1992 Co-ordination of Government policy and EC mattersTom Kitt13 February 199212 January 1993 Arts and culture, Women's affairs and European affairs22nd14 January 199315 December 1994European affairs23rdNoel Treacy14 January 199315 December 1994 Gay Mitchell20 December 199426 June 1997 European affairs24thAvril Doyle27 January 199526 June 1997 Consumers of Public ServicesDonal Carey27 January 199526 June 1997 Western Development and Rural RenewalDick Roche19 June 2002 29 September 2004 European Affairs26thNoel Treacy29 September 2004 20 June 2007 European AffairsDick Roche14 June 2007 9 March 2011 European Affairs27th28thDara Calleary23 March 20109 March 2011 Public service transformation28thLucinda Creighton10 March 2011 11 July 2013 European Affairs29thPaschal Donohoe12 July 2013 11 July 2014 European AffairsJimmy Deenihan15 July 20146 May 2016 DiasporaSimon Harris15 July 20146 May 2016 Dara Murphy15 July 201420 June 2017 European Affairs and Data protection29th30thJoe McHugh19 May 201616 June 2017 Diaspora30thPaul Kehoe6 May 201614 June 2017 30th31stHelen McEntee20 June 201727 June 2020 European Affairs31stPat Breen20 June 201727 June 2020 Data protectionThomas Byrne1 July 202021 December 2022 European Affairs32ndPeter Burke21 December 20229 April 2024 European Affairs33rdJennifer Carroll MacNeill10 April 202423 January 2025 European Affairs34thThomas Byrne29 January 2025Incumbent European Affairs35th

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