Deadpan finance minister Michael Noonan cashes in his chips

The ‘godfather’ of Fine Gael, who steered the country out of the bailout, Finance Minister, Michael Noonan, has fulfilled his final acts as the man in charge of the State’s purse strings, writes Political Correspondent Juno McEnroe.

Sometimes regarded as the witty schoolmaster of the Dáil, with a razor-sharp tongue capable of putting down any on the benches, the Limerick man will leave a mixed legacy, full of drama, struggles, and scandals, but also humour and political command.

Having taken the reins at the Department of Finance, on Merrion Street, Dublin, during the fraught bailout days, when Ireland was close to going bust, Noonan, after adroitly overseeing the escape from the Troika paymasters, will likely be remembered for helping mend the damaged economy.