Simon Harris gives junior ministries to Fine Gael TDs who missed out on Cabinet jobs

Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond has been appointed as a Minister of State in the Department of Finance by Mr Harris.

The Dublin Rathdown TD replaces Jennifer Carroll MacNeill in the position which has responsibility for financial services, insurance and Credit Unions.

Mr Richmond was one of the first TDs to public endorse Mr Harris for the Taoiseach’s job when Leo Varadkar announced his intention to step down.

Due to his performance during Brexit it was speculated that he would get the European Affairs role.

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However, Ms McNeill was appointed Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence yesterday afternoon when Mr Harris was announcing his Cabinet team. She replaced Peter Burke who became Minister for Enterprise.

Dublin Midwest TD Emer Higgins will replace Mr Richmond as Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise where she will have responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail.

Limerick City TD Kieran O’Donnell is to be appointed as Minister of State for the Office of Public Works where he will replace Patrick O’Donovan who was appointed as Higher Education Minister.

Mayo TD Alan Dillon will be a Minister of State in Department of Housing and Cork North Central TD Colm Burke will be Minister of State in the Department of Health.

Martin Heydon will remain as Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael TD for Mayo Michael Ring said he turned down an offer from new Taoiseach Simon Harris to become a junior minister.

Speaking to Midwest Radio, Mr Ring said he was offered two different junior ministerial roles but declined both.

“I was offered a junior minister and I declined it on the basis that one of the commitments was that they were expecting me to stand in the next general election and I haven’t made up my mind in relation to that.

“The second thing is I have been a senior minister and I have been a junior minister. I have done all that, I was nine-and-a-half-years a minister. I believe this Government has only, no matter what happens, about nine months to run.

“I believe that taking a junior minister now, I don’t think I could deliver on anything in nine months.”

Mr Ring (70) said he had given the offer a lot of thought but concluded it “wasn’t for me” at this stage in his life.

He said he was offered two junior ministries without “any spending power”.

“I have given this everything and I just feel in the next nine months, it’s not enough time. Leo Varadkar caught us all out.

“Really the time I should have got this offer was after the last general election after topping the poll for Fine Gael, after being the only Fine Gael TD in the whole country that topped the poll. I got almost 15,000 votes.”

He also said he felt “there was too much Dublin” in the Cabinet following the 2020 general election ad was against his party going into coalition with Fianna Fáil following the last election.