By Mike Fitzgerald
The wait will continue for a ministerial post for Clare as Taoiseach Micheál Martin selected no local deputy for the new Cabinet of the 34th Dáil. Mountshannon man Timmy Dooley had been hotly tipped for a role in the new government after he was elected by 11,313 first preference votes, the second most for any Fianna Fáil candidate behind only his party leader Micheál Martin. This will make it 14 years since the last Clare public representative was appointed to Cabinet when Tony Killeen (FF) served as Minister of Defence from March 2010 to January 2011, following Willie O’Dea’s resignation.
Fellow Fianna Fáil Deputy Cathal Crowe and Fine Gael Deputy Joe Cooney will also support the next government following last November’s general election. The lack of a ministerial position for Clare will come as a disappointment for people in the county as the lack of representation will make securing funding for large infrastructure projects much harder. The current makeup of the cabinet features little representation of the Midwest region with Limerick man Patrick O’Donovan being the only representative from this area while serving as Minister of Communications, Arts and Culture.
Speaking a few weeks before the chaotic scenes that eventually led to Micheál Martin being elected Taoiseach, Deputy Dooley maintained that the Clare electorate had put forward a strong case for a ministerial position as two seats had been delivered for Fianna Fáil. “I think there is an expectation for a ministerial role but I am also conscious that there are other constituencies that have done likewise”, said Mr. Dooley. He also stressed that “there are a limited amount of positions and the Taoiseach will have a difficult job to hand out the loaves and fishes at a later stage”. The Tulla based deputy is now expected to be appointed to a minister of state role while party colleague Cathal Crowe and Fine Gael Deputy Joe Cooney will be confined to the role of TDs for now.
