Dara Calleary’s rise through the political ranks continued apace this week with the announcement that he has been appointed a Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, with special responsibility for Labour Affairs. Calleary, who was elected to the Dáil for the first time at the last general election, has become the first junior minster to be appointed from the county since Tom Moffatt lost his Dáil seat as a sitting junior minister with responsibility for health in the 2002 general election.
Deputy Calleary’s new brief in the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment will come as a major boost for his home town of Ballina which has the highest rates of unemployment per head of population in Ireland. The new Minister of State told the Mayo Advertiser that he was genuinely surprised when he got the promotion to ministerial level. “I was genuinely really, really, surprised when I was told, but I’m absolutely delighted to take on this task,” he said.
“This is a great day for my family and all my supporters and for everyone in the Fianna Fáil party in Mayo, for a long time the Fianna Fáil party in the county have been taking a kicking and this is a good day for all those people who stuck by us.”
With his new position within the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment people will be expecting big things for Mayo in the coming few years from Calleary, but he recognises that things don’t just happen overnight. “I’m a minister, not a wizard. I haven’t been handed a magic wand. Times are tough and things will take time to happen, but I’m going to do my best for the people of Mayo.”
The reaction to the news from all around the county is something that took Calleary by surprise and something he was extremely grateful for as he explained: “My phone hasn’t stopped going with messages of support from people all over the county, and at home, and people calling into the office. The well wishers have been from all over the county and with it being so long since we had a ministerial portfolio in the county there is excitement about it.”
Tributes
Constituency and party colleague Deputy Beverly Flynn congratulated Deputy Calleary saying: “I would like to congratulate my constituent colleague, Dara Calleary, on his appointment. It is a great opportunity for Dara personally, and a great boost for the county politically. I would like to wish him every success in this challenging appointment and I look forward to continuing to work with Dara in his new position.”
Congratulations were also paid by fellow Mayo TD Michael Ring who said: “It is a very proud day for Deputy Calleary and indeed for his parents and all his family. I wish him well on his appointment. I hope he will be a strong voice for the county and that he will play a significant part in securing the necessary infrastructure for the county. I wish him the best in his new role.”
Ring’s party colleague Deputy John O’Mahony also congratulated Deputy Calleary on his promotion, saying: “On a personal level it’s a great honour for Dara and as a fellow Mayo man I’m delighted for him. His appointment comes after a long period of neglect by the Government to the people of Mayo. The hope is now that Minister Calleary will be able to persuade the Taoiseach and his cabinet Ministers to deliver to the county. There are many challenges ahead for him and there will be pressure on him to deliver for Mayo but I’m sure that Dara is all too well aware of the challenges that he will be faced with and he will be working extremely hard to meet those particular challenges.”
However Westport Labour Party town councillor Keith Martin was not so conciliatory towards the announcement. “Dara Calleary's becoming a junior minister is a bit like getting a promotion on the Titanic just after the lookout has shouted ‘Iceberg!’” Cllr Martin said. “The Government did little for us in Mayo at the height of the boom and will do even less for us now, but if Deputy Calleary can do one thing it must be the upgrading of the N5 to Mullingar because according to the major employers of Mayo 9,000 jobs depend on it being upgraded.”
