Defence minister role
Deputy Berry asks whether the new Minister of State at Defence will receive any formal defence powers. The Tánaiste says the arrangement will remain the same, with him as senior Minister and the Minister of State continuing in the existing limited role.
I welcome the appointment of Jennifer Carroll MacNeill as Minister of State at the Department of Defence on Tuesday. I look forward to working with her. I am just mindful that her predecessor, Peter Burke, and indeed his predecessor, Jack Chambers, had no defence powers delegated to them at all during their tenure. Does the Tánaiste intend delegating any formal defence powers to Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and, if so, what role does he see her having in the defence apparatus of the country?
Comment on this
The role will be very similar, the same as for the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, now and the Minister of State, Jack Chambers. For years, I think people wanted a senior Minister in the Department of Defence. I am the senior Minister in the Department of Defence as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs because for years people felt that having just a Minister of State dealing with defence matters was somehow undermining of the Defence Forces. That is the way it has been ordained since the commencement of the Government and that is the way it will continue.