Govt to appoint minister of state at agriculture
A new Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture is expected to be announced later this week.
The vacancy stems from the resignation of Michael Healy-Rae as forestry minister after the fuel protests last month.
The position is going to a Fianna Fáil TD with the current chairperson of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee, Aindrias Moynihan, seen as the front runner.
His role as committee chair could potentially go to Carlow-Kilkenny TD Peter 'Chap' Cleere.
However, there is a sense within Government that Fine Gael will want an assurance that Fianna Fáil will support its candidate in the Seanad bye-election before signing off on the minister of state post.
"There will have to be a conversation," said one senior Government figure.
This Seanad bye-election, which must be held within six months, was triggered following the election of Fine Gael's Sean Kyne to the Dáil yesterday.
This contest has a small electorate of just TDs and Senators and the early speculation has centred on Fine Gael's unsuccessful Dublin Central candidate, Ray McAdam, as a possible runner.
But party insiders pointed out today that many people have already expressed their interest in the role to Tánaiste Simon Harris.
The Committee on the Irish Language is also set to get a new chairperson this week.
The position previously held by President Catherine Connolly has not been filled since she left the Dáil.
The appointment rests with the Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin but it is understood that Independent TD Barry Heneghan is keen on the role.
Tomorrow, the two new TDs elected in the bye-elections, the Social Democrats' Daniel Ennis and Fine Gael's Sean Kyne, will take their seats in the Dáil.
Independent candidate Gerard Hutch, who finished fourth in the Dublin Central bye-election, hinted on social media today that he intends to run in the constituency at the next election.
