Minister for Labour (Ireland)

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The Minister for Labour was originally the name of a government department in the Government of the Irish Republic, the self-declared state which was established in 1919 by Dáil Éireann, the extra-legal parliamentary assembly made up of the majority of Irish MPs elected in the 1918 general election. Constance Markiewicz was the first person to hold the post. The office was abolished in 1922.

The modern title of Minister for Labour was created by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1966 as a member of the Government of Ireland. The position was for many years a low key ministerial position. In 1993 the minister became the Minister for Equality & Law Reform, in 1997 the functions of the minister were passed to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the abolition of the office.

Contents 1 List of office-holders 1.1 Minister for Labour 1919–1922 1.2 Minister for Labour 1966–1993 1.3 Minister for Equality and Law Reform 1993–1997

[edit] List of office-holders

[edit] Minister for Labour 1919–1922
#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	1.	Constance Markiewicz	2 April 1919	9 January 1922	Sinn Féin
	2.	Joseph McGrath	11 January 1922	9 September 1922	Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
	3.	Patrick Hogan (acting)	17 July 1922	9 September 1922	Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
[edit] Minister for Labour 1966–1993
#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	1.	Patrick Hillery	13 July 1966	2 July 1969	Fianna Fáil
	2.	Joseph Brennan	2 July 1969	14 March 1973	Fianna Fáil
	3.	Michael O'Leary	14 March 1973	5 July 1977	Labour Party
	4.	*Gene FitzGerald (1st time)	5 July 1977	16 December 1980	Fianna Fáil
	5.	Tom Nolan	16 December 1980	30 June 1981	Fianna Fáil
	6.	*Liam Kavanagh (1st time)	30 June 1981	9 March 1982	Labour Party
		*Gene FitzGerald (2nd time)	9 March 1982	14 December 1982	Fianna Fáil
		*Liam Kavanagh (2nd time)	14 December 1982	13 December 1983	Labour Party
	7.	*Ruairi Quinn	13 December 1983	20 January 1987	Labour Party
	8.	Gemma Hussey	20 January 1987	10 March 1987	Fine Gael
	9.	Bertie Ahern	10 March 1987	14 November 1991	Fianna Fáil
	10.	Michael O'Kennedy	14 November 1991	11 February 1992	Fianna Fáil
	11.	Brian Cowen	11 February 1992	12 January 1993	Fianna Fáil
	12.	Mervyn Taylor	12 January 1993	21 January 1993	Labour Party
[edit] Minister for Equality and Law Reform 1993–1997
#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	1.	Mervyn Taylor (1st time)	21 January 1993	17 November 1994	Labour Party
	2.	Máire Geoghegan-Quinn	18 November 1994	15 December 1994	Fianna Fáil
		Mervyn Taylor (2nd time)	15 December 1994	26 June 1997	Labour Party
	3.	John O'Donoghue	26 June 1997	8 July 1997	Fianna Fáil

The asterisk (*) indicates ministers who held both the Labour and Public Service portfolios at the same time.

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