In a significant reshuffling amongst junior ministers, Taoiseach Simon Harris appointed several politicians to new positions.
One such individual is Dublin Rathdown TD Neale Richmond, who was previously a junior enterprise minister and is now the Minister of State for Finance. His new portfolio includes Financial Services, Credit Unions, and Insurance. First coming to the fore after his appointment to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2009, he was later made a Senator in 2016. Richmond has earned a name for himself due to his contributions towards Brexit and is frequently seen voicing Ireland’s standpoint on British media outlets. Born in Ballinteer, the rugby enthusiast who once played for the Oireachtas team and a UCD graduate, Richmond was first elected into the Dáil in 2020. His previous ministerial role involved overseeing employment affairs and the retail business sector.
Emer Higgins, previously acclaimed for her role in Fine Gael, has been appointed as the Minister of State for Enterprise, responsible for Business, Employment, and Retail. Her political journey began in university, where she was an active part of the students’ union. She was elected to the South Dublin County Council in 2014 and 2019 after getting co-opted in 2011. Despite her failed run at the 2019 Dublin Mid-West by-election, she won a seat in the general elections a year later. Before politics, the 38-year-old was employed at PayPal, serving as the chief of staff of global operations. Her voice has been instrumental in urging social media firms to address online bullying issues.
Alan Dillon, the first-term TD has steadily made his mark on the local political scene. Appointed as the Minister of State for Housing, he bears the important responsibility for Local Government and Planning. Apart from his role on the Dáil’s spending watchdog the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Media Committee, he has been involved in probing matters around RTÉ. Aged 41, this former Mayo football captain and two time All Star recipient was last year selected as Fine Gael’s parliamentary party chairman. This role, however, he will leave behind due to his recent elevation.
After completing his graduation in science, he bid farewell to inter-county football in 2017 and co-established Dillon Engineering Services, a company closely working with the medical devices and pharma industry. Replacing ex-Taoiseach Enda Kenny on Mayo’s party ticket, Dillon triumphed in his maiden attempt for the Dáil in 2020.
Kieran O’Donnell, Minister of State responsible for the Office of Public Works, at the age of 60, holds the record of being involved critically in the creation of legislation for a directly elected mayor in Limerick. Being the nephew of deceased Fine Gael TD Tom O’Donnell, he clinched the councillor position in 2004 and secured a Dáil seat three years later. Although he was re-elected in 2011, he failed to do so in 2016. He served the Seanad for four years before rejoining Dáil in 2020 when he was made chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport. Leo Varadkar, the ex-Taoiseach, promoted him to the junior minister post at the Department of Housing in his 2022 shuffle.
Colm Burke, Minister of State for Health, responsible for Public Health, Wellbeing and National Drugs Strategy, at the age of 67, has been part of two renowned committees – Health and PAC under the present Dáil. He is competent enough to handle problems that might occur in his new role at the Department of Health. A solicitor himself, he substituted in the European Parliament for the Ireland South constituency from 2007 to 2009, when former MEP Simon Coveney was re-elected to the Dáil. Burke won a seat in the Seanad in 2011 and was elected to the Dáil for Cork North Central in 2020 after failing to win a 2019 by-election just three months prior.