Minister for Labour (Ireland)
Encyclopedia
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 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 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.
!No.
!Name
!Entered Office
!Left Office
!colspan="2"|Party
|-
|1.
|Constance Markievicz
|2 April 1919
|9 January 1922
! style="background-color: " |
|Sinn Féin
|-
|2.
|Joseph McGrath
|11 January 1922
|9 September 1922
! style="background-color: " |
|Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
|-
|3.
|Patrick Hogan
(acting)
|17 July 1922
|9 September 1922
! style="background-color: " |
|Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
|-
|colspan="6"|
!No.
!Name
!Entered Office
!Left Office
!colspan="2"|Party
|-
|1.
|Patrick Hillery
|13 July 1966
|2 July 1969
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
|-
|2.
|Joseph Brennan
|2 July 1969
|14 March 1973
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
|-
|3.
|Michael O'Leary
|14 March 1973
|5 July 1977
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
|-
|4.
|*Gene Fitzgerald
(1st time)
|5 July 1977
|16 December 1980
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
|-
|5.
|Tom Nolan
|16 December 1980
|30 June 1981
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
|-
|6.
|*Liam Kavanagh
(1st time)
|30 June 1981
|9 March 1982
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
|-
|
|*Gene Fitzgerald
(2nd time)
|9 March 1982
|14 December 1982
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
|-
|
|*Liam Kavanagh
(2nd time)
|14 December 1982
|13 December 1983
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
|-
|7.
|*Ruairi Quinn
|13 December 1983
|20 January 1987
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
|-
|8.
|Gemma Hussey
|20 January 1987
|10 March 1987
! style="background-color: " |
|Fine Gael
|-
|9.
|Bertie Ahern
|10 March 1987
|14 November 1991
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
|-
|10.
|Michael O'Kennedy
|14 November 1991
|11 February 1992
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
|-
|11.
|Brian Cowen
|11 February 1992
|12 January 1993
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
|-
|12.
|Mervyn Taylor
|12 January 1993
|21 January 1993
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
|-
|colspan="6"|
!No.
!Name
!Entered Office
!Left Office
!colspan="2"|Party
|-
|1.
|Mervyn Taylor
(1st time)
|21 January 1993
|17 November 1994
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
|-
|2.
|Máire Geoghegan-Quinn
|18 November 1994
|15 December 1994
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
|-
|
|Mervyn Taylor
(2nd time)
|15 December 1994
|26 June 1997
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
|-
|3.
|John O'Donoghue
|26 June 1997
|8 July 1997
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
|}
The asterisk (*) indicates ministers who held both the Labour and Public Service portfolios at the same time.
Irish Republic
The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...
, the self-declared state which was established in 1919 by Dáil Éireann
First Dáil
The First Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. In 1919 candidates who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom and instead assembled as a unicameral, revolutionary parliament called "Dáil Éireann"...
, the parliamentary assembly made up of the majority of Irish MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
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 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.
Minister for Labour 1919–1922
|-!No.
!Name
!Entered Office
!Left Office
!colspan="2"|Party
|-
|1.
|Constance Markievicz
|2 April 1919
|9 January 1922
! style="background-color: " |
|Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
|-
|2.
|Joseph McGrath
Joseph McGrath (politician)
Joseph McGrath was an Irish politician and businessman. He was a Sinn Féin and later a Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála for various constituencies in Dublin and County Mayo and developed widespread business interests.-Political career:McGrath was born in Dublin in 1887...
|11 January 1922
|9 September 1922
! style="background-color: " |
|Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
|-
|3.
|Patrick Hogan
Patrick Hogan (Cumann na nGaedheal)
Patrick Hogan was a Irish politician.He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1921 general election as a Sinn Féin candidate for the Galway constituency...
(acting)
|17 July 1922
|9 September 1922
! style="background-color: " |
|Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
|-
|colspan="6"|
Minister for Labour 1966–1993
|-!No.
!Name
!Entered Office
!Left Office
!colspan="2"|Party
|-
|1.
|Patrick Hillery
Patrick Hillery
Patrick John "Paddy" Hillery was an Irish politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. First elected at the 1951 general election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Clare, he remained in Dáil Éireann until 1973...
|13 July 1966
|2 July 1969
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
|-
|2.
|Joseph Brennan
|2 July 1969
|14 March 1973
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
|-
|3.
|Michael O'Leary
|14 March 1973
|5 July 1977
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
|-
|4.
|*Gene Fitzgerald
Gene FitzGerald
Eugene Fitzgerald was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and company director. He was a Teachta Dála and a Member of the European Parliament , and also served as Minister for Labour and Minister for Finance.Gene Fitzgerald was born in Crookstown, County Cork in August 1932...
(1st time)
|5 July 1977
|16 December 1980
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
|-
|5.
|Tom Nolan
|16 December 1980
|30 June 1981
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
|-
|6.
|*Liam Kavanagh
Liam Kavanagh
Liam Kavanagh is a former Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1969 general election as a Labour Party Teachta Dála for the Wicklow constituency. He remained in the Dáil until losing his seat at the 1997 general election...
(1st time)
|30 June 1981
|9 March 1982
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
|-
|
|*Gene Fitzgerald
Gene FitzGerald
Eugene Fitzgerald was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and company director. He was a Teachta Dála and a Member of the European Parliament , and also served as Minister for Labour and Minister for Finance.Gene Fitzgerald was born in Crookstown, County Cork in August 1932...
(2nd time)
|9 March 1982
|14 December 1982
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
|-
|
|*Liam Kavanagh
Liam Kavanagh
Liam Kavanagh is a former Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1969 general election as a Labour Party Teachta Dála for the Wicklow constituency. He remained in the Dáil until losing his seat at the 1997 general election...
(2nd time)
|14 December 1982
|13 December 1983
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
|-
|7.
|*Ruairi Quinn
Ruairi Quinn
Ruairi Quinn is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Minister for Education and Skills since March 2011. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South East constituency. He was Minister for Finance from 1994 to 1997, and leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002.-Early...
|13 December 1983
|20 January 1987
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
|-
|8.
|Gemma Hussey
Gemma Hussey
Gemma Hussey is a former Irish Fine Gael politician.Gemma Moran was born in Dublin in 1938 and educated at Loreto College, Foxrock and University College Dublin. Hussey had a successful career running a language school in the late 1960s and 70s...
|20 January 1987
|10 March 1987
! style="background-color: " |
|Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
|-
|9.
|Bertie Ahern
Bertie Ahern
Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
|10 March 1987
|14 November 1991
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
|-
|10.
|Michael O'Kennedy
Michael O'Kennedy
Michael O'Kennedy is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician, who served in a range of cabinet positions, most notably as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Finance and Irish European Commissioner.-Early life:...
|14 November 1991
|11 February 1992
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
|-
|11.
|Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...
|11 February 1992
|12 January 1993
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
|-
|12.
|Mervyn Taylor
Mervyn Taylor
Mervyn Taylor is a former Irish Labour Party politician and government minister.He was born to a Jewish family in Dublin. He was educated at Zion School, Wesley College Dublin and at Trinity College Dublin where he qualified as a solicitor.He worked for Herman Good Solicitors alongside Herman Good...
|12 January 1993
|21 January 1993
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
|-
|colspan="6"|
Minister for Equality and Law Reform 1993–1997
|-!No.
!Name
!Entered Office
!Left Office
!colspan="2"|Party
|-
|1.
|Mervyn Taylor
Mervyn Taylor
Mervyn Taylor is a former Irish Labour Party politician and government minister.He was born to a Jewish family in Dublin. He was educated at Zion School, Wesley College Dublin and at Trinity College Dublin where he qualified as a solicitor.He worked for Herman Good Solicitors alongside Herman Good...
(1st time)
|21 January 1993
|17 November 1994
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
|-
|2.
|Máire Geoghegan-Quinn
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn is an Irish politician, and is the current European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science. She previously served as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for the Galway West constituency from 1975 to 1997...
|18 November 1994
|15 December 1994
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
|-
|
|Mervyn Taylor
Mervyn Taylor
Mervyn Taylor is a former Irish Labour Party politician and government minister.He was born to a Jewish family in Dublin. He was educated at Zion School, Wesley College Dublin and at Trinity College Dublin where he qualified as a solicitor.He worked for Herman Good Solicitors alongside Herman Good...
(2nd time)
|15 December 1994
|26 June 1997
! style="background-color: " |
|Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
|-
|3.
|John O'Donoghue
John O'Donoghue (politician)
John O'Donoghue is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Kerry South constituency from 1987 to 2011. He is a former Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas. He resigned as Ceann Comhairle on 13 October 2009 due to controversy about his...
|26 June 1997
|8 July 1997
! style="background-color: " |
|Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
|}
The asterisk (*) indicates ministers who held both the Labour and Public Service portfolios at the same time.