Simon Harris’s initial day as Ireland’s Taoiseach was consumed by cabinet meetings, discussions with Rishi Sunak and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and planning for his maiden overseas trip in this capacity. However, his lack of engagement with the Dáil resulted in strong censure from the Opposition.
On Thursday, Mr Harris will head to Brussels to present Ireland’s plans to officially acknowledge Palestine as a state to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. In a later meeting in Warsaw with the European Council President Charles Michel and the Chief Executives of six EU countries, including Poland’s Donald Tusk, the situation in Gaza is projected to be part of the dialogue.
In Harris’s inaugural Cabinet meeting, he presided over the promotion of three Fine Gael backbench TDs, namely Alan Dillon, Emer Higgins and Colm Burke, to junior minister positions. The agreement also laid out the creation of a new Cabinet committee on Children, Education and Disability- an area Harris has committed to highlight. Furthermore, a committee expected to deal with Migration, Integration, and the Ukraine was proposed.
On his first day as Taoiseach, Harris was reprimanded by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald for not appearing in the Dáil for the Leaders’ Questions, referring to him as a “no-show” and “absent”. His unavailability was justified by the Government Chief Whip Hildegarde Naughton, who cited discussions with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers, and Ukrainian President, Zelenskiy.
To defend the Taoiseach, a spokesperson said that Mr Harris had been in office from 7:50 am, had attended pre-Cabinet meetings, made appointments for junior ministers earlier than expected and had preliminary meetings ahead of his call with Zelenskiy, and his Brussels meetings with Von der Leyen and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. The spokesperson further stressed that recognising Palestine was a significant priority for the Irish populace and would be a major talking point during Mr Harris’s upcoming meeting with Von der Leyen.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Harris made public his new team of State Ministers. Among the newly appointed figures is Mayo’s representative, Mr Dillion, who now assumes the junior housing ministry role tasked with the oversight of local government and planning. Ms Higgins, hailing from Dublin Mid-West, has stepped into the Minister of State for Enterprise position. She succeeds Neale Richmond from Dublin Rathdown, who now serves as a junior minister in the Finance Department.
The North Central Cork representative, Mr Burke, has taken on the role of Minister of State, supervising Public Health, Well Being, and the National Drugs Strategy. Meanwhile, Michael Ring, a previous member of the Cabinet, disclosed to Midwest Radio that he had turned down offers of junior minister roles proposed by Mr Harris.
Mr Ring, an experienced representative, noted his reason for declining was due to the uncertainty about running for the upcoming election and that the assigned roles provided no financial authority. However, when queried about the specifics of the roles proposed, Mr Ring chose not to respond, stating his intention not to embarrass the Taoiseach. On being asked about Mr Ring’s statements, the spokesperson for Mr Harris refused to comment, citing a lack of knowledge concerning private conversations between the Taoiseach and his parliamentary party members.
Reports suggest Mr Harris being highly satisfied with his chosen team and that all appointees have shown their worth. During a meeting of Fine Gael’s parliamentary party, Mr Harris stated his belief in Fine Gael’s potential to triumph at the following general election, playing a significant role in the formulation of the succeeding Government.