Micheál MartinPosition: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Age:46
Party:Fianna Fáil
Constituency:Cork South Central
Political career:Seen by some as Cork's Jack Lynch-type figure, he has been Leeside's senior politician for some years. He was elected to the Dáil on his second attempt in 1989 and was party spokesman on education and the Gaeltacht before his appointment as minister for education in 1997.
He later served as minister for health before his transfer to enterprise, trade and employment in a cabinet reshuffle. His period in health was seen as controversial and dogged by the commissioning of reports. Sources close to the Minister were last night scotching reports that he was hopeful of a transfer to the high-profile Department of Foreign Affairs.