Cork's three new junior ministers lay out their portfolio priorities
Tánaiste Simon Harris and Taoiseach Micheál Martin with newly-appointed Ministers of State at Government Buildings in Dublin on Wednesday. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA
Cork's three newest junior ministers have been outlining their priorities in their first days in the job.
While the county is now represented by just Taoiseach Micheál Martin at full Cabinet level, Fianna Fáil's Michael Moynihan and Christopher O'Sullivan, and Fine Gael's Jerry Buttimer, have begun sketching out the roles as ministers of state.
Mr Moynihan will become of Minister of State at the Department of Education with special responsibility for Special Education and Inclusion.
Having been a TD since 1997, he was the chair of the Oireachtas Disabilities Committee in the last Dáil. This, he told The Irish Examiner, would put him in a position to advocate for parents of children with additional needs.
"I'm delighted to get the opportunity," Mr Moynihan said.
"The brief follows on from the position I had in the last Dáil and is a natural fit. I know the huge challenges with primary school places in particular.
"In the last four and a half years, I've heard the challenges put forward by people and families so I understand the difficulties being faced on a daily basis.
"It's something that I've worked on for years. I hope I can do something in my time to make a difference to those people."
Mr O'Sullivan had been tipped to take on a role in coastal communities, but says that his appointment as Minister of State with special responsibility for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity is a natural fit, saying that as a keen bird and whale watcher, it was "a dream".
"There's not many TDs who carry binoculars for birding in their cars," he joked.
He says that part of his challenge is ensuring communication around how biodiversity protection and farming can overlap.
"Worldwide we have a biodiversity issue, species are dying out and Ireland is not immune to that. My main priority is to stem that trend. Enhancing biodiversity will be a big part of that.
"I'm in the heart of dairy farming and I know farmers do care. The conflict comes when they see unnecessary red tape and think it's coming from a green agenda.
"The level of interest in ACRES shows that farmers want to be involved. We can find the sweet spot in making sure that we can bring communities with us."
Mr Buttimer is due to take on two separate junior ministries – one for rural transport and another for community development.
The Cork South-Central TD set out that one of his his key priorities is delivering the Cork metropolitan railway, describing the project as being critical. Mr Buttimer said:
“Its about ensuring that we have an alternative, a counterbalance to Dublin.”
Mr Buttimer said that it was important the government get “value for money” when delivering larger projects.
Other issues would be on improving social inclusion across rural Ireland, with Mr Buttimer saying that this would include enhancements to existing schemes like the Town Centre First or Tidy Towns.
“I think it’s important that we work with community and voluntary organisations to ensure that the money we send supports to communities,” Mr Buttimer said.
Mr Buttimer added that addressing rural depopulation, as well as improving transport links in both rural and urban areas would be a key focus.
On transport, he said that there needed to be further innovation around Local Link bus services, as well as focus on active travel, particularly through greenways which Mr Buttimer believes brings people into rural Ireland.
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