Department of State (Ireland)
A Department of State of Ireland is a department or ministry of the Government of Ireland. The head of such a department is called a Minister of the Government; prior to 1977 such ministers were called Ministers of State, a term now used for junior ministers. Most members of the government are Ministers of the Government, though there may occasionally be a minister without portfolio. The law regarding the departments of state and ministers of the government is based in the Constitution of Ireland, primarily in Article 28, with legislative detail in the Ministers and Secretaries Acts 1924 to 2017.
Overview
There are seventeen individual departments of state in the Irish Government. Each department is led by a Minister of the Government, who is appointed by the President on the nomination of the Taoiseach and approval of Dáil Éireann, and cover matters that require direct political oversight. For all departments, the Minister in question is known as Minister for … and is a member of the cabinet, formally known as the Government of Ireland; a cabinet-level minister without a department is called a minister without portfolio, though the only permanent appointment on this basis was during The Emergency, between 1939 and 1945. A Minister of the Government is usually supported by a one or more Ministers of State, also known as junior ministers, and may delegate powers to such officials in accordance with law.Under the terms of the Constitution, there may be no fewer than seven, and no more than fifteen members of the cabinet, though ministers are permitted by law to be responsible for more than one department. In the 32nd Government Simon Coveney is Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence.
The Minister of the Government has the power to suggest and propose new or amended legislation to the Government relating to matters that arise in their own department. Ministers are also entitled to make statutory instruments, also known as delegated or secondary legislation. Statutory instruments allow the minister to give effect to or implement legislation without passage through the Oireachtas. Statutory instruments do not have to be approved by the Oireachtas, although they may be cancelled by either the Dáil or the Seanad and may not supplant the role of primary legislation.
Each department of state has a permanent staff that remains in office regardless of changes in government or the Oireachtas. The departments' staff are described as the civil service. The administrative management of the department is led by a senior civil servant known as a secretary-general. These officials advise and assist the minister in the running of the department.
The names and functions of the separate departments of states have in some cases changed significantly from their creation. The transfer of functions between departments usually occurs after a general election, but may also be instigated by a new Taoiseach or at any stage of a cabinet reshuffle. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has created guidelines of best practice for the management of these transfers.
List of departments of state
Current departments of state, listed under their present title.| Department of State | Creation | Incumbent Minister | Ministerial Office |
| Agriculture, Food and the Marine | 1919 | Dara Calleary | Agriculture, Food and the Marine |
| Defence | 1919 | Simon Coveney | Defence |
| Finance | 1919 | Paschal Donohoe | Finance |
| Foreign Affairs and Trade | 1919 | Simon Coveney | Foreign Affairs and Trade |
| Business, Enterprise and Innovation | 1919 | Leo Varadkar | Business, Enterprise and Innovation |
| Housing, Planning and Local Government | 1919 | Darragh O'Brien | Housing, Planning and Local Government |
| Justice and Equality | 1919 | Helen McEntee | Justice and Equality |
| Education and Skills | 1921 | Norma Foley | Education and Skills |
| Communications, Climate Action and Environment | 1921 | Eamon Ryan | Communications, Climate Action and Environment |
| Taoiseach | 1924 | Micheál Martin | Taoiseach |
| Health | 1947 | Stephen Donnelly | Health |
| Employment Affairs and Social Protection | 1947 | Heather Humphreys | Employment Affairs and Social Protection |
| Children and Youth Affairs | 1956 | Roderic O'Gorman | Children and Youth Affairs |
| Transport, Tourism and Sport | 1973 | Eamon Ryan | Transport, Tourism and Sport |
| Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht | 1977 | Catherine Martin | Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht |
| Public Expenditure and Reform | 2011 | Michael McGrath | Public Expenditure and Reform |
| Rural and Community Development | 2017 | Heather Humphreys | Rural and Community Development |
- Notes: At the formation of the 32nd Government on 27 June 2020, a reconfiguration of departments was announced. These changes will take place over the course of the following months. Simon Harris has been named as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. The corresponding Department of State has not yet been formed, and Harris will be a minister without portfolio until the new department has been assigned to him.
Past Departments of state, listed under their final title
- Note: Frank Aiken served as Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures from 1939 to 1945 during the Emergency. In this capacity, he was formally a minister without portfolio as there was no corresponding Department of State.