Dara Calleary named super junior minister

MAYO TD Dara Calleary will sit at the Cabinet table after being named as the new super junior minister.

The former Minister for Agriculture will attend Cabinet meetings from now on after being named as the designated Minister of State who attends meetings with the Taoiseach and senior government ministers. 

Minister Calleary will retain his position as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

This comes after the Ballina native missed out on the Minister for Finance position to fellow Fianna Fáil TD, Jack Chambers. 

Ballina-based Fianna Fáil councillor Anne May Reape welcomed his return to cabinet, telling The Mayo News: "I am personally delighted for Dara and Ballina that he has been promoted to super junior position. It’s a welcome promotion in that he will now be sitting at the Cabinet table. It’s a well-deserved promotion for Dara as someone that has been re-elected at every election since 2007."

Minister Calleary's first sat with the Cabinet when he was appointed government chief whip following the 2020 general election. 

His subsequent appointment as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine ended quickly after he resigned his position in the wake of the Golfgate controversy.