On Tuesday, Seán Canney will discover what junior ministry he will hold as part of the new Fine Gael-Independent Government, but whatever portfolio he is given, he will have to share it with Independent Alliance colleague Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran.
Dep Canney, a TD for Galway East, has been informed that he will receive a junior ministry, but he has received no indication yet as to what brief he will be given. This is largely due to the fact that a number of existing ministries are being reorganised, with some responsibilities having been switched between departments. As a result, a new series of junior ministries is being created. Currently three ministers of state have been appointed, and, as Dep Canney indicated to the Galway Advertiser, most, if not all, of the rest, will be known early next week.
For his part, Dep Canney is interested in a ministry that will have relevance for “the west of Ireland, the constituency, as well as nationally”. “I would be interested in getting a ministry involving public works and dealing with flooding,” he said. “I would also be interested in rural affairs or housing, both of which I have some expertise on given my background.”
A curious factor of whatever will be Dep Canney’s ministry is that it will have to be rotated between him and Longford-Westmeath TD Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran. “Dep Moran and I have worked closely together,” said Dep Canney. This is a result of the Fine Gael-Independent Alliance agreement which gives the IA “one and a half junior ministries”. This will see Dep John Halligan share a ministry with Fine Gael, and Canney and Moran take another.
