Mayo TDs eye key senior roles in next cabinet

TWO of the senior TDs in Mayo believe they are in the running to be appointed as a senior minister when the new Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael and Independent government come to power this week.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is expected to be elected as the new Taoiseach when Dáil Éireann reconvenes after the Christmas break on Wednesday after a deal on forming a new government was agreed.

As the largest party after the General Election on November 29, Fianna Fáil is expected to hold eight senior ministries while Fine Gael will be entitled to seven.

Mayo TD's Dara Calleary of Fianna Fáil and his Fine Gael counterpart Alan Dillon both ended the last Dáil term as junior ministers and will be hoping to be elevated to the cabinet before the end of the week.

However, it is highly unlikely that two Mayo TDs will be given senior ministry roles and both TDs will be putting pressure on their party leaders to give them the nod. When it comes to geography, Calleary is the most senior and high-profile Fianna Fáil TD in Connacht which he will hope plays to his advantage when Micheál Martin hands out his eight portfolios.

On the other hand, Mayo was the only constituency along the western seaboard to return two Fine Gael TDs with former TD Michael Ring saying following the election that Simon Harris had to reward the party in Mayo with a senior ministry.

Speaking to The Mayo News, Castlebar-based TD Alan Dillon said that he believes he will be in the mix to be one of the Fine Gael ministers, particularly after a good election result.

“In Mayo we have a good story to tell and anyone who voted for Fine Gael expects that vote will count at the highest level of government or that vote would represent a vote for their candidate who has influence within government. If it's a senior minister or minister of state ... it is in the gift of our party leader and we await his decision in the coming days.

“Our party leader is limited in terms of the number of positions he has at a senior level but ... we had a fantastic election and Fine Gael returned 35 percent of the first preference vote share within the county. It is difficult to say who will be appointed to which portfolio but I can certainly say I will be in the mix and that is important,” he commented.

Ballina-based Dara Calleary has been elected as a Fianna Fáil TD for Mayo at every election since 2007 but was only once appointed to senior ministry. In July 2020, he was appointed Minister for Agriculture but was only a month in the job when he resigned following the Golfgate controversy.

Many people with Fianna Fáil in Mayo expect Micheál Martin to appoint Calleary with a senior ministry this time around but he remained tight-lipped at the prospect saying he 'would be absolutely honoured to serve in cabinet'.

Priorities

Speaking ahead of the formation of the new government, Deputy Calleary said he will be making capital investment into the road and rail network as one of his main objectives as well as developing the SDZ at Knock Airport and the roll-out of social and affordable housing.

“The world is in a very challenging situation,” he said. “We have to work collectively to protect Mayo's economic and social interests amongst the challenges that will be presented.”

Deputy Dillon said he believes that as a senior TD in Fine Gael he believes he is now in a better position to influence policy decisions and deliver for the county.

“I want to ensure that as someone who has experience of working at minister of state level that I can influence those at the highest level of government to ensure that Mayo is front and centre on any health, housing and education and transport projects and that key infrastructure is delivered to the west and we continue to have balanced regional development as a core principle. I want to ensure that within the revised national development plan those I have met right across the county in our key towns and villages have a voice when we present a revision of this new plan,” he said.