The Donegal TD, Ms Mary Coughlan, has been promoted to a Minister of State in a minor reshuffle announced by the Taoiseach yesterday.
Following the resignation of Mr Ned O'Keeffe, the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, the Government at a Cabinet meeting decided on his replacement. Ms Coughlan is to be appointed Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, which was previously the responsibility of Mr Eamon O Cuiv. He has now been appointed Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. Responsibility for food safety, previously held by Mr O'Keeffe, is to be given to Mr Noel Davern, as well as his existing responsibilities in the Department of Agriculture for Livestock Breeding and Horticulture.
Meanwhile, Mr Ahern is expected to come under pressure in the Dail today from Fine Gael and the Labour Party to explain the circumstances surrounding Mr O'Keeffe's resignation and whether there was a deal to move the former minister to another Department, as the Cork TD has claimed.
The Fine Gael spokesman on Justice, Mr Alan Shatter, is to seek a suspension of Dail business today to deal with the urgent matter of public interest, in particular the agreement or arrangement between Mr Ahern and Mr O'Keeffe to move him to a different ministry.
Mr Shatter said he also wants to know the time and date when Mr Ahern was informed by the minister of his intention to resign; the instructions given by the Taoiseach last week by alleged "shadowy" persons to seek Mr O'Keeffe's resignation and to brief the media on his behalf about his intentions to sack the minister.
According to a statement from the Government, Mr O Cuiv will have special responsibility for Rural Development and for the Western Development Commission. Ms Coughlan will have special responsibility for the Gaeltacht and the Islands. Dr Tom Moffat will continue to have special responsibility for Food Safety.
Ms Coughlan is a TD in Donegal South West. Last week, her constituency colleague, Mr Dinny McGinley, was appointed Fine Gael spokesman on Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands. Both parties have said they are fighting for the third seat in the next general election, which is currently held by Independent TD Mr Thomas Gildea.
It had been thought that the Dublin TD, Mr Brian Lenihan, might have been in line for promotion or that the Taoiseach would have chosen another Cork deputy to replace Mr O'Keeffe.
Meanwhile Dr Mary Upton, the Labour Party spokeswoman on Food Safety and Consumer Affairs, said Mr O'Keeffe had "certainly implied" to her that he did not like voting against her party's Dail motion on banning the feeding of meat-and-bone meal to pigs.
Her recollection, she said on RTE radio, was that Mr O'Keeffe said this to her on the way to the vote in the Dail chamber.