Minister for Labour

The Minister for Labour was originally a position in the Government of the Irish Republic, the self-declared state which was established in 1919 by Dáil Éireann, the parliamentary assembly made up of the majority of Irish MPs elected in the 1918 general election. Constance Markievicz 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[1] 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 and 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.

List of office-holders

No. Name Term of office Party
1. Constance Markievicz 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
No. Name Term of 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
No. Name Term of 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 were Minister for Labour and Minister for the Public Service at the same time.

References

  1. ↑ "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1966". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 26 December 2013.