As Micheal Martin becomes Taoiseach again and Simon Harris prepares for a stint at the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence brief, here are some TDs who could be in line for a ministerial role.
Jack Chambers, who was first elected as a TD for Dublin West in 2016, is set to become the Minister for Public Expenditure. The 34-year-old was touted as a talent within the coalition from early on. He had a good 2024 when he became the deputy leader of Fianna Fail and the youngest finance minister since revolutionary Michael Collins.
Among his political achievements are reform of road rules – including reduced speed limits and a revamped penalty points system – and delivering a 10.5 billion euro budgetary package.
Darragh O’Brien is set for a second term as Minister for Housing (Brian Lawless/PA)
Darragh O’Brien, a Malahide native, has served as the Minister for Housing since June 2020, and will look to alleviate housing crisis pressures during his second term in office.
Since he became housing minister, the number of people accessing emergency accommodation has increased by 50% to 15,000 people, and house prices have ballooned by 37% since the start of 2020.
Mr O’Brien’s Housing for All plan aims to build an average of 33,000 homes a year until 2030, a target that has increased to an average of 60,000 homes a year under the programme for Government.
He has introduced cost rental schemes, which offer below-market rents based on the cost of building and maintaining the property, and the government shared equity “First Home” scheme.
Norma Foley, who is in line to become the Minister for Social Protection and Rural Affairs, is a Tralee teacher who comes from a staunchly Fianna Fail family. Ms Foley used to canvass for her father who served as a TD for Kerry North for 18 years.
Elected as a first-time TD in 2020, Ms Foley was appointed Education Minister where she faced school closures and State exam disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A controversial measure to spend 9 million euros on phone pouches for secondary schools drew significant criticism in the last budget.
Fianna Fail’s Jim O’Callaghan is one of the names in the ring for Minister for Justice (Brian Lawless/PA)
Dublin Bay South TD Jim O’Callaghan is in the running to become the next Minister for Justice. The practising barrister was appointed Fianna Fail’s spokesman for justice by party leader Micheal Martin in May 2016.
James Browne is a barrister who practised for 11 years and was first elected as a TD for Wexford in 2016, taking on the mantle from his father John who served as a TD for more than 30 years. His name is also in the ring to become the next Minister for Justice and Integration.
He has been credited with passing the Gambling Regulation Act, which aims to prevent children from starting to gamble and aims to tackle gambling addictions.
Mary Butler, who is tipped to become the next Minister for Children, Equality and Disability, ran the family grocery shop in Portlaw, Co Waterford before entering politics, becoming a councillor in 2014.
She has served as a TD since 2016 and has served as a minister of state with responsibility for mental health and older people since 2020.
She called for a no vote in the Eighth amendment referendum and in 2018 proposed a bill banning intimate piercings and tattoos for under 18s.
Patrick O’Donovan, known for blunt retorts, is tipped for the Communications, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport Cabinet position (Niall Carson/PA)
James Lawless was a prominent government spokesperson in the media during the last government. The Fianna Fail TD for Kildare North, who is set to become the next Minister for Transport, Climate and Energy, was rewarded for his loyalty with a junior ministerial role at the Department of Transport when Simon Harris took over as taoiseach in April.
During that short stint he met with Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary who has called for the lifting of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, and with the Welsh transport minister over ferry disruptions at Holyhead.
Limerick TD Patrick O’Donovan was appointed as Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works in 2020, and elevated to Cabinet as Higher Education minister after Simon Harris became Taoiseach. He is tipped to become the Minister for Communications, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport.
A politician known for blunt retorts and commentary, one of the biggest challenges he will grapple with will be funding for RTE.
Two-term Eurogroup president Paschal Donohoe is set to move back to the Finance portfolio for his seventh budget in the role. Described as a “prudent” politician, he has served as a minister in three different portfolios for the past 10 years.
Rising star Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is to become the next Minister for Health (Brian Lawless/PA)
He brushed past questions raised around undeclared election poster services and was considered a possible Fine Gael leadership contender when Leo Varadkar stood down, but stated his focus remained on serving as a minister and Eurogroup president.
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is a rising star within the Fine Gael party. Carroll MacNeill, who is to become the next Minister for Health, has been a robust debater for the government. The barrister served as a former adviser in the Department of Children and the Department of Justice.
She has served as Minister of State for European Affairs since April when Harris became Taoiseach.
Helen McEntee is the deputy Fine Gael leader who had been suggested for Enterprise but instead is to move from the senior role of Justice to Minister for Education.
Ms McEntee dealt with charged and complex issues such as the aftermath of the Parnell Square knife attack and Dublin riots; push back against hate incitement legislation, which was subsequently scrapped; the introduction of facial recognition technology for gardai; and how to tackle violence against women.
Deputy Fine Gael leader Helen McEntee will be moving away from the justice department into a role as Minister for Education (Brian Lawless/PA)
Fianna Fail figures have been critical of her tenure in Justice, with Willie O’Dea branding her the “worst Minister for Justice in the history of the State” and Jim O’Callaghan stating Justice needed a “new energy” after 14 years with Fine Gael.
Simon Harris said there had been “an undertone” of sexism in relation to criticism of Ms McEntee, and said she had highlighted domestic, sexual and gender-based violence more than any other justice minister.
Westmeath native Peter Burke got his election campaign off to the wrong start with an endorsement by Michael O’Leary where the Ryanair boss made controversial comments about teachers not being people who “get things done”.
A chartered accountant, he previously served as minister of state for European affairs before being appointed Enterprise minister in April after Simon Coveney announced his resignation shortly after Leo Varadkar stood down. He is set to retain the role in Enterprise and Tourism.
Martin Heydon is a junior minister at the Department of Agriculture. The Kildare South TD is set to move up to the senior Agriculture role.