Fianna Fáil eyes up Justice and Foreign Affairs roles in Cabinet reshuffle
Simon Coveney And Picture: Helen Affairs Foreign Collins Justice Minister Minister Mcentee
Fianna Fáil is eyeing up the Justice and Foreign Affairs portfolios after December’s reshuffle amid growing tensions with Fine Gael.
Senior party sources have signalled that Táoiseach Micheál Martin is keen to take either over from current Justice Minister Helen McEntee or from Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney rather than doing a straight swap with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
The news comes as it has been confirmed that the December 15 changeover date is to be delayed by several days to allow Mr Martin to attend his final EU summit in Brussels as Taoiseach.
It is increasingly unlikely that any senior Cabinet minister on the Fine Gael side will be demoted while there is still a belief Mr Martin will demote Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in the reshuffle.
It is expected most ministers will rotate to different positions at Cabinet with changes of personnel occurring at junior ministerial level.
Mr Varadkar, in addition to being Tánaiste, is also minister for enterprise, trade and employment and Mr Martin has previously occupied that post during his 14-year stint at Cabinet between 1997 and 2011.
The reason the party is keen to take on either Justice or Foreign Affairs is that they both have responsibility for affairs relating to Northern Ireland and it has been the cause of some angst that neither portfolio has been in the party’s control since entering Government in June 2020.
While it has been speculated in recent days that a move to Foreign Affairs is more likely, this has been discounted by party sources.
They have said should Mr Martin take over from Mr Coveney, it is a tacit signal to his party that he is on the way out, as the role will have him out of the country for long periods and would be an “invitation to his rivals to take him out”.
They have also pointed to the experience of former Labour leader Eamon Gilmore who endured a torrid time in terms of internal recrimination between 2011 and 2014 when he occupied the tánaiste’s position.
The has also confirmed that Attorney General Paul Gallagher will not be remaining on at his post beyond December, despite requests for him to do so.
Mr Gallagher, who is highly regarded by all sides of the Coalition, previously served as attorney general in the Brian Cowen government between 2008 and 2011.
We also know that in addition to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste positions rotating in December, the finance portfolios are also set to rotate with Paschal Donohoe vacating the Department of Finance, where he has been since 2017.
He previously held the role of Public Expenditure Minister between 2016 and 2017 but it is thought unlikely he will return there, with some talk that if Mr Martin takes over in Justice, Mr Donohoe could be heading for Iveagh House.
There is some disquiet within Fianna Fáil that Fine Gael would occupy the two major international facing positions of Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs after the reshuffle.
We also know that the chief whip position, currently held by Fianna Fáil’s Jack Chambers, will also rotate with increased speculation that Fine Gael’s current whip Brendan Griffin will replace Hildegarde Naughten at the Cabinet table.
On the other hand, if Mr Martin would take Foreign Affairs, it would allow Mr Coveney slot into Mr Varadkar’s Department of Enterprise or even into Public Expenditure and Reform.