Elaine Loughlin: Martin faces fascinating choices when his term as Taoiseach ends
But where do you put a Taoiseach who has stepped down but isn’t going away?
The current revolving Taoiseach arrangement has put an entirely different slant on things and chatter as to where Micheál Martin will go when he leaves the top job in Government to take over the second top job has already started around Leinster House.
The likelihood is that he will end up in one of three departments: Higher Education; Foreign Affairs; or Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
All have their pros and cons and none of these would offer Micheál Martin a smooth landing.
“It all depends on where the Taoiseach wants to go first and then the domino effect arises from that,” one Government TD said of the expected end-of-year reshuffle.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is an obvious fit for Mr Martin, but carries the biggest risk.
He is already familiar with the palatial surrounds of Iveagh House having served as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 2008 and 2011 — a term which included him flying to Khartoum to discuss the kidnapping of Sharon Commins with the Sudanese government and also a trip to Cuba, which marked the first official visit by an Irish government minister.
Mr Martin is comfortable on the world stage and appears to be making it his mission to meet as many foreign dignitaries as possible during his reign as Taoiseach. There are a number of international engagements in the pipeline for his final few months in office, including the possibility of a trip to Japan later in the year.
The Foreign Affairs brief would allow him to continue in a statesman-like role, albeit in another guise.
“He is more than capable of a department with proper heft. So, I wouldn’t be putting him into Rural Affairs, no disrespect to the department,” a coalition source said.
Those who point to Foreign Affairs as his next destination cite it as a springboard to a bigger job in Europe.
“Remember that the European commissioner in 2024 is a Fianna Fáil call, so the rumour is that he might go to the commission in 2024,” one Government source said.
But taking over Simon Coveney’s current role would also be fraught with political risk.
Having the party leader out of sight and out of the country on a regular basis would be a prime opportunity for any political rival who may have their eyes on the leadership.
One former junior minister even suggested that such a move would be the “kiss of death” for Mr Martin.
You only need to look at the example of former Labour leader and tánaiste Eamon Gilmore who got himself into the unfortunate predicament of being stranded on the other side of the Atlantic at the United Nations in New York when his junior minister Róisín Shortall resigned.
Similarly, a Labour source points to Dick Spring, who “literally would land on the tarmac to go have a row”, with controversies and squabbles erupting when he was either in the air or abroad.
“I always think it’s a bit silly for a party leader to decide they want to be minister for foreign affairs, but you know Micheál, he is stubborn, he will know what he wants to do,” a Government TD said.
Another theory being discussed is the possibility of a direct swap with Leo Varadkar. Taking up the position currently held by the Tánaiste is the cleanest option and potentially could mean no other changes around the Cabinet table, although it’s highly unlikely other ministers won’t be moved about.
Enterprise is weighty enough to be a worthy option for someone who has just led the country but would also provide Mr Martin with enough spare time to focus on rebuilding and rebranding Fianna Fáil ahead of the next general election.
While Green Party members have indicated that they want to retain their current portfolios, there is a growing appetite within Fine Gael for a significant reshuffle. Some have said the party cannot go to the public once again with the same faces in the most senior positions.
As one member pointedly stated, the electorate would see this as asking the same question of them when they clearly said no the last time around.
This could allow for a move to the third (and probably the best) option — the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
Having established the department on entering Government, it’s seen as an area that Mr Martin is already personally invested in.
It’s a department that has the fifth largest budget, with €2.5bn available to spend, but is also an area that doesn’t regularly lead to headline controversies or scandals.
Timing is everything in politics and a raft of measures recently announced by Simon Harris as part of a new policy on funding higher education and reducing the cost of education for families would be rolled out by the time Mr Martin has to bring his party back to the polls.
If it played out right for him, the Fianna Fáil leader would be able to go into an election having reduced the current €3,000 fees by at least a third and would be able to point to the thousands of extra students who are entitled to grants.
If Mr Martin does pick Higher Education, that would trigger the domino effect, as Fine Gael would presumably demand that Norma Foley be moved, otherwise Fianna Fáil would have the two education portfolios.
“If he took Foreign Affairs or Higher Education, Fine Gael is going to have to get another department back and that’s where it gets kind of fascinating,” a Fine Gael member said.
But as one experienced source put it: “I have a feeling he hasn’t discussed it with anybody. We will find out in December and that will be it.”
June 10: Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco arrived in Ireland. The Cork Examiner reported that “artillery boomed a 21-gun salute and a cheer of welcome went up from ten thousand throats” as they stepped out from the Boeing jet Breandain at Dublin Airport.
June 12: Under the headline “Middle classes desert government” it was reported that Fianna Fáil had slipped 3% in an opinion poll. However, Charlie Haughey’s party was still on 47% support. Fine Gael were unchanged at 28% and Labour were on 8%.
June 14: It was reported that a “major upset” in the Connacht-Ulster Euro constituency was looming after Independent Dana Rosemary Scallan outpolled Fianna Fáil’s Noel Treacy by over 3,00 votes on the first count. In the end the former Eurovision singer took one of three seats.
June 13: Then Taoiseach Enda Kenny came under fire for casting unfair aspersions on former finance minister Brian Lenihan after suggesting that files relating to the bank guarantee might have been shredded.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin challenged Mr Kenny to provide evidence to back up his “flippant claims” or else withdraw them from the Dáil record.
The Dáil isn’t sitting this week, but there is still a bit going on.
- Taoiseach Micheál Martin will be in Strasbourg to take part in a two-day series of engagements, which will include the unveiling of a bust of the late John Hume with the President of the European Parliament. He will also address the plenary session of the European Parliament and will meet with representatives of the Council of Europe, in the context of Ireland’s six-month presidency.
- With the Taoiseach abroad and the Dáil not sitting, the weekly meeting of ministers which usually takes place on Tuesday mornings, will be delayed until Thursday.
- The joint committee on international surrogacy will meet in the afternoon to discuss surrogacy regulations in other jurisdictions and how to best prevent the exploitation or coercion of surrogate mothers.
- The Social Democrats will hold their annual conference in Dublin’s Gresham Hotel.
Leinster House is home to both a painting and a sculpture of Countess Constance Markievicz.
However, in 2018 another painting of Markievicz was presented by Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail to then speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.
The presentation of the painting was part of the Votáil 100 initiative marking the centenary of women’s suffrage, as Markievicz was the first woman ever elected to the UK House of Commons, though as a Sinn Féin MP she did not take her seat.
The portrait went on display as part of the UK parliament’s Voice & Vote exhibition.
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