Leaders drawing up Cabinet ahead of power handover

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and his Labour counterpart Eamon Gilmore were tonight putting the finishing touches to their Cabinet line-up ahead of the first sitting of the 31st Dáil tomorrow.

With the makeup of the new administration set to be announced tomorrow, it is widely expected that 10 of 15 ministerial portfolios will be allocated to Fine Gael, while Labour will get five.

Fine Gael’s Michael Noonan is widely expected to get the coveted Finance portfolio, while Labour is tipped for the Attorney General post, giving the smaller party potentially six seats at the Cabinet table.

Other Fine Gael TDs tipped for a ministry include programme for government negotiators Phil Hogan and Alan Shatter, as well as Richard Bruton, Leo Varadkar, Sean Barrett, James Reilly, Simon Coveney and Jimmy Deenihan.

Labour hopefuls include former leaders Pat Rabbitte and Ruairi Quinn, Roisin Shortall and Brendan Howlin, with the party’s current finance spokesperson Joan Burton widely expected to get the new finance brief with responsibility for expenditure and public sector reform.

Mr Kenny will face his first official engagement on Friday when he travels to Brussels for an extraordinary European Council meeting, where he will meet with other heads of state.

In government, the two parties have pledged to seek better repayment terms for last December’s €85bn European Union/International Monetary Fund rescue package.

Under the partnership deal, a new super-ministry will also be set up within the cabinet to take sole charge of the country’s economic direction.

The Department of Finance will be split in two.

The new finance minister will look after budgets and taxes while an estimates and public service reform minister will take control of spending and the overhaul of the public sector.

Preparations were under way inside and outside Leinster House for the first Dáil sitting, with large crowds of supporters from Mr Kenny’s native Co Mayo expected to descend on Dublin to welcome his appointment.

Departing Fianna Fáil finance minister Brian Lenihan will briefly assume the role of Taoiseach during tomorrow's power handover.

Mr Lenihan, Eamon O’Cuiv and Brendan Smith are the only three survivors from the 15-strong FF-Greens cabinet emphatically overthrown by voters.

And for more than an hour, Mr Lenihan in the Taoiseach’s chair and Deputies O’Cuiv and Smith on the governmett benches will be forced to endure their humiliating eviction to the opposite side of the house.

The vastly shrunken ranks of Fianna Fáil will also take up what is left of their old seats on the ruling side of the Dáil they had dominated for the last 14 years.

At around midday, the clerk of the Dáil, Kieran Coughlan, will call the 31st Dáil to order and read out the name and constituency of each new member.

Nominations for the Ceann Comhairle will then be taken and, once elected, he or she will address TDs before taking an oath of impartiality and taking the chair.

Parties will then be asked to nominate a Taoiseach – a formality this time around which will see Fine Gael Mr Kenny elected by the massive majority of his coalition deal with Labour.

The Dáil usually takes a two-hour break at this stage, during which Mr Kenny will travel to Aras an Uachtaráin to be officially sworn into the highest office in the country.

The drama will continue on the resumption as the new Taoiseach walks back into the chamber, followed in order of seniority by his newly-appointed Cabinet, to seize control of the government benches.

Such is the scale of the Fine Gael/Labour partnership – referred to by Labour as a national government – that their combined 113 seats will sweep around more than two thirds of the familiar U-shape of the house.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin will take up his new seat directly across from Mr Kenny and alongside his new neighbour on the Opposition ranks, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, who is expected to have a front row seat.

The Dáil will then vote to formally appoint Cabinet ministers to their departments.

With dozens of TDs elected for the first time, it is expected to be standing room only in the public gallery while public access to Leinster House will be with a ticket only.

It is customary for the Dáil to adjourn after its first day for a week or two to allow new government ministers get to grips with their departments and senior officials.

Meanwhile a technical group of 16 independents has been formed to give them speaking rights in the Dáil, under the leadership of Finian McGrath, Shane Ross and Joe Higgins.

Three other Independents - Michael Lowry, Michael Healy Rae and Noel Grealish - today said they have cut a separate deal with Fine Gael and Labour and will back Mr Kenny for Taoiseach in return for their own speaking rights.