Fianna Fáil TD and deputy leader Dara Calleary has been named as the new Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The Mayo TD will take up the reins in Agriculture House after the Taoiseach Micheál Martin sacked former Minister Barry Cowen. Cowen was relieved of his duties just 17 days after being appointed following controversy over a drink-driving offence from 2016.
Calleary will need to hit the ground running in the agriculture brief after making the step up from his position as Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport.
Calleary spoke openly of his disappointment at not securing a ministerial role first time around
First elected a TD in 2007, the 47-year-old will be familiar with many of the issues facing farmers given his predominantly rural constituency.
There had been heavy criticism over a lack of representation for western counties at the cabinet table and Calleary spoke openly of his disappointment at not securing a ministerial role first time around.
Pressing issues
He will now restart a round of introductory meetings with key stakeholders as well as European counterparts. Department officials will also be keen to press ahead with important policy initiatives that have been on ice since the general election.
Calleary’s first official outing looks set to be a meeting of EU agricultural ministers in Brussels on Monday to discuss the ongoing reform of the CAP.
Dara Calleary will guide agriculture through an important period after being promoted from his role as Chief Whip.
Hailing from Ballina, Calleary studied business and politics in Trinity College Dublin. He previously worked for business network Chambers Ireland and son of former long-serving Mayo East TD Seán Calleary.
His first elected position was as a TD in 2007 and he has since served in a number of roles including Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Minister of State for Public Service Transformation and most recently Fianna Fáil spokesperson on public expenditure and reform.
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Minister for Agriculture Barry Cowen sacked
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Fianna Fáil TD and deputy leader Dara Calleary has been named as the new Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The Mayo TD will take up the reins in Agriculture House after the Taoiseach Micheál Martin sacked former Minister Barry Cowen. Cowen was relieved of his duties just 17 days after being appointed following controversy over a drink-driving offence from 2016.
Calleary will need to hit the ground running in the agriculture brief after making the step up from his position as Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport.
Calleary spoke openly of his disappointment at not securing a ministerial role first time around
First elected a TD in 2007, the 47-year-old will be familiar with many of the issues facing farmers given his predominantly rural constituency.
There had been heavy criticism over a lack of representation for western counties at the cabinet table and Calleary spoke openly of his disappointment at not securing a ministerial role first time around.
Pressing issues
He will now restart a round of introductory meetings with key stakeholders as well as European counterparts. Department officials will also be keen to press ahead with important policy initiatives that have been on ice since the general election.
Calleary’s first official outing looks set to be a meeting of EU agricultural ministers in Brussels on Monday to discuss the ongoing reform of the CAP.
Dara Calleary will guide agriculture through an important period after being promoted from his role as Chief Whip.
Hailing from Ballina, Calleary studied business and politics in Trinity College Dublin. He previously worked for business network Chambers Ireland and son of former long-serving Mayo East TD Seán Calleary.
His first elected position was as a TD in 2007 and he has since served in a number of roles including Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Minister of State for Public Service Transformation and most recently Fianna Fáil spokesperson on public expenditure and reform.
Read more
Minister for Agriculture Barry Cowen sacked
‘I did not evade a garda’ - Minister Cowen
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