Irish Government: New ministerial appointments

Following the Irish Government elections last November, the full suite of ministerial roles has now been formally announced, seeing Patrick O'Donovan TD (Fine Gael) appointed as Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport and James Browne TD (Fianna Fáil), as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

In addition, Christopher O’Sullivan TD ( Cork South-West Fianna Fáil TD) has been appointed Minister of State with special responsibility for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity.

Minister O'Donovan previously served as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and, prior to this, as Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works; and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media with special responsibility for the Gaeltacht.

He also served as Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with Special Responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government, and eGovernment, and Minister of State for Tourism and Sport.

He was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2011 for the Limerick County Constituency, and prior to his election to the Dáil, served as a member of Limerick County Council from 2003-2011.

You can contact Minister O'Donovan at patrick.odonovan@oireachtas.ie

Minister Browne previously served as Minister of State at the Department of Justice with responsibility for International Law, Law Reform and Youth Justice.

James was born in Enniscorthy, Wexford, and is the oldest of a family of 4. He attended college at Waterford IT, University College Cork and the King’s Inns. He is a qualified Barrister.

He has led initiatives to reform mental health services in Ireland, including the Mental Health (Amendment) Act 2018 and the Oireachtas committee on the Future of Mental Healthcare.

You can contact Minister Browne at james.browne@oireachtas.ie

Minister of State O’Sullivan can be contacted at christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie

List of Ministerial appointments:

• Taoiseach: Micheál Martin
• Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence: Simon Harris
• Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services, Reform and Digitalisation: Jack Chambers
• Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Jim O'Callaghan
• Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural, Community Development and the Gaeltacht: Dara Calleary
• Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage: James Browne
• Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy and Minister for Transport: Darragh O'Brien
• Minister for Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: James Lawless
• Minister for Children, Disability and Equality: Norma Foley
• Minister for Finance: Paschal Donohoe
• Minister for Health: Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
• Minister for Education and Youth: Helen McEntee
• Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine: Martin Heydon
• Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Peter Burke
• Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Patrick O'Donovan