MINISTER OF STATE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TAOISEACH

The 'Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach' is essentially the Irish Government Chief Whip and is the most senior Minister of State. The role of the Whip is primarily that of the disciplinarian for all Government Parties i.e. to ensure that all deputies, including Ministers, attend for Dáil Business and follow the Government line on all issues. The current Government Chief Whip is Tom Kitt, TD.

Contents

Overview

List of office-holders

Parliamentary Secretary to the President 1921–1937

Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach 1937–1977

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach 1978–present

See also

Overview

The main responsibilities of the Chief Whip include:

★ Attendance at Government meetings
The Chief Whip is usually the only Minister of State to attend Government Meetings.

★ 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 all Whips at their Wednesday night meeting. At the moment there are five Whips i.e. the Government Chief Whip, the Green Party Whip, and the Whips from the Opposition Parties, Fine Gael, Labour and the group of Independent Deputies (including Sinn Fein).

★ 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 office-holders

Parliamentary Secretary to the President 1921–1937

#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	1.	Daniel McCarthy	December 6, 1922	March 31, 1924	Cumann na nGaedhael
	2.	James Dolan	June 19, 1924	June 24, 1927	Cumann na nGaedhael
	3.	Eamonn Duggan	June 24, 1927	March 9, 1932	Cumann na nGaedhael
	4.	Gerald Boland	March 9, 1932	February 7, 1933	Fianna Fáil
	5.	Patrick Little	February 8, 1933	December 29, 1937	Fianna Fáil

Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach 1937–1977

#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
		Patrick Little	December 29, 1937	September 26, 1939	Fianna Fáil
	6.	Paddy Smith	September 27, 1939	July 2, 1943	Fianna Fáil
	7.	Eamonn Kissane	July 2, 1943	February 18, 1948	Fianna Fáil
	8.	Liam Cosgrave	February 18, 1948	June 13, 1951	Fine Gael
	9.	Donnchadh Ó Briain ''(1st time)''	June 13, 1951	June 2, 1954	Fianna Fáil
	10.	Denis J. O'Sullivan	June 2, 1954	March 20, 1957	Fine Gael
		Donnchadh Ó Briain ''(2nd time)''	March 20, 1957	October 11, 1961	Fianna Fáil
	11.	Joseph Brennan	October 11, 1961	April 21, 1965	Fianna Fáil
	12.	Michael Carty	April 21, 1965	July 2, 1969	Fianna Fáil
	13.	Desmond O'Malley	July 2, 1969	May 7, 1970	Fianna Fáil
	14.	David Andrews	May 8, 1970	March 14, 1973	Fianna Fáil
	15.	John Kelly	March 14, 1973	July 5, 1977	Fine Gael
	16.	Patrick Lalor	July 5, 1977	January 1, 1978	Fianna Fáil

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach 1978–present

#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
		Patrick Lalor	January 1, 1978	July 1, 1979	Fianna Fáil
	17.	Michael Woods	July 1, 1979	December 11, 1979	Fianna Fáil
	18.	Seán Moore	December 13, 1979	June 30, 1981	Fianna Fáil
	19.	Gerry L'Estrange	June 30, 1981	November 11, 1981	Fine Gael
	20.	Fergus O'Brien ''(1st time)''	November 11, 1981	March 9, 1982	Fine Gael
	21.	Bertie Ahern	March 9, 1982	December 14, 1982	Fianna Fáil
	22.	Seán Barrett ''(1st time)''	December 14, 1982	February 13, 1986	Fine Gael
		Fergus O'Brien ''(2nd time)''	February 13, 1986	March 10, 1987	Fine Gael
	23.	Vincent Brady	March 10, 1987	November 14, 1991	Fianna Fáil
	24.	Dermot Ahern	November 15, 1991	February 11, 1992	Fianna Fáil
	25.	Noel Dempsey	February 11, 1992	December 15, 1994	Fianna Fáil
		Seán Barrett ''(2nd time)''	December 15, 1994	May 23, 1995	Fine Gael
	26.	Jim Higgins	May 24, 1995	June 26, 1997	Fine Gael
	27.	Séamus Brennan	June 26, 1997	June 6, 2002	Fianna Fáil
	28.	Mary Hanafin	June 6, 2002	September 29, 2004	Fianna Fáil
	29.	Tom Kitt	September 29, 2004	''Incumbent''	Fianna Fáil

See also

★ Minister of State at the Department of Defence

★ Minister of State

★ Department of the Taoiseach

★ Department of Defence