Quarter of junior ministers to lose their jobs
Five of the Government’s 20 junior ministers are to lose their jobs after Easter in a cost-cutting reshuffle, the Taoiseach said today.
Speaking on the eve of the emergency Budget, Brian Cowen said all ministers of state will resign on April 21 but only three-quarters of them will be reappointed the following day.
The Taoiseach said he will allocate new roles, functions and areas of responsibility for the 15 office holders.
“At a meeting the Taoiseach held with his Ministers of State today, it was agreed that there is a need to restructure the way that Government does its business to ensure it is more effective and delivers best value to the taxpayer,” a spokesman said.
“Mindful of the pressures on public expenditure at this time, the Taoiseach will re-examine the roles and functions of Ministers of State so as to ensure the most effective implementation of Government policies across all departments.”
The Taoiseach thanked the outgoing Ministers of State for their role in implementing Government policy.
“When the Dáil reconvenes on April 22, the Taoiseach will announce the allocation of new areas of responsibility, roles and functions of ministers of state, which will be reduced to 15, similar to the numbers of ministers in Government.”
