Calleary delighted with Minister of State role

BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT Ballina TD Dara Calleary is back serving as a Government Minister. Pic: Michael McLaughlin

Mayo TD back in ministerial circles in familiar role


Anton McNulty

Mayo Fianna FΡil TD Dara Calleary has been appointed as the new Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
The Ballina based TD’s appointment as the new Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation was approved by the Cabinet last Wednesday morning.
Calleary replaces his party colleague Robert Troy as Minister of State following his resignation last week.
Speaking after this appointment, the new Minister of State said he was delighted to be appointed and it is a personal honour for him and his family.
“I look forward to getting stuck in straight away and continuing to build on the great work my colleague Robert Troy TD has done in the department.
“The Department is full of hard-working and talented people and I’m looking forward to working alongside them. This is a great personal honour and I am very grateful to my family, my colleagues, my supporters and my constituents for their ongoing support,” he said.
The appointment of Calleary to a ministerial position comes two years after he himself resigned as Minister of Agriculture after he attended an Oireachtas Golf Society dinner in Clifden during the height of the Covid pandemic. The dinner resulted in a number of high profile resignations and became known as ‘Golfgate’.
Calleary was first elected as a Mayo TD in 2007 and has been elected on each election since then. He served in a number of roles in government in the past and previously served as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 2009 to 2011.
Prior to his election as a TD in 2007 he worked with Chambers Ireland from 1999 to 2006.

Broad welcome
The appointment of Dara Calleary as a Minister of State will be broadly welcomed among his supporters in Ballina who felt he was harshly treated following the Golfgate controversy.
His Fianna FΡil colleague, Senator Lisa Chambers tweeted her congratulations to him following the appointment.
“Congratulations to my colleague @daracalleary on his appointment as Minister of State.
“A good day for Mayo,” she tweeted.
Mayo Fine Gael TD Alan Dillon also extended his best wishes following the appointment.
Deputy Dillon said: “ I want to wish Dara the very best of luck and every success on his new role and look forward to working with Minister of State Calleary in helping Irish business and families navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead at both national and local level.”
Mayo’s other TD, long serving Fine Gael Deputy, Michael Ring, also congratulated Deputy Calleary.
Deputy Ring stated: “I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate Dara on his new appointment.
“I am colleague of Dara’s for a long number of years and I wish him every success in this role,” he said.