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Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach
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Everything about The Minister Of State At The Department Of The Taoiseach totally explainedThe Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach is essentially the Irish Government Chief Whip and is the most senior Minister of State. The role of the Whip is primarily that of the disciplinarian for all Government Parties for example to ensure that all deputies, including Ministers, attend for Dáil Business and follow the Government line on all issues. The current Government Chief Whip is Pat Carey, TD.
Overview
The main responsibilities of the Chief Whip include:
The Chief Whip is usually the only Minister of State to attend Government Meetings.
Preparation of weekly brief for Taoiseach on legislation in preparation
Before each Dáil Session letters are sent to all Ministers to see what legislation or other business their Department expects to place before the Dáil. A weekly report on what stage Bills are at is given to the Taoiseach. During the Order of Business the Taoiseach is often queried about what legislation is promised. The weekly report shows what Bills are promised and gives an expected date of publication of the Bill.
Scheduling and monitoring of Dáil Business
Once a Bill has been published and is placed on the Dáil Order Paper the staff in the Whip's Office keep in touch with Minister's Private Secretaries about when they wish to have their bill taken in the Dáil - sometimes the Whip's Office have to insist that a Bill is taken on a certain day, particularly when there isn't much business for the House. Every Wednesday the Private Secretary prepares an agenda (called a schedule - see example) for each sitting day of the following week. This is discussed at a meeting of all Whips at their Wednesday night meeting. At the moment there are five Whips for example the Government Chief Whip, the Green Party Whip, and the Whips from the Opposition Parties, Fine Gael, Labour and the group of Independent Deputies (including Sinn Féin).
Operation of the Pairing System
A pair is an arrangement whereby a Government Deputy's name is linked with an Opposition Deputy in the event of a Vote arising. The practice is that under such an arrangement neither Deputy votes in any Division arising while the pairing agreement is valid. Because it's obviously so important for the Government to maintain its majority in the Dáil Chamber the pairing arrangements must be attended to very carefully. If a member can't attend a notice explaining their absence must be sent to the Chief Whip as early as possible.
Leinster House accommodation for Political Parties
The Minister has to ensure that facilities and services in Leinster House are satisfactory for members and staff. The Opposition Whips liaise with him on matters such as office equipment which they may require.
Chairing Legislation Committee
The Chief Whip chairs the weekly meeting of the Legislation Committee. This Committee meets to discuss the progress of Bills in Departments and tries to ensure that there's always enough business for the Dáil and Seanad. The meeting is attended by the Attorney General, a Parliamentary Draftsman, Programme Manager to the Taoiseach, Programme Manager to the Tánaiste, Principal Officer in this Department (who looks after legislation) and The Chief Whip.
History
The office was first created in 1922 as Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Executive Council. On 29 December 1937 under the terms of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, the office of Parliamentary Secretary to the President was changed to that of Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach. Following the enactment of the "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No.2) Act, 1977", the office of Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach was replaced with the office of Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach.
List of office-holders
Further Information
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