The front bench announced yesterday by Mr Enda Kenny, the new leader of Fine Gael, marks an attempt to heal divisions created by past leadership battles.
In particular, Mr Kenny has moved to keep two former leaders, the former Taoiseach, Mr John Bruton, and Mr Michael Noonan, who resigned after the general election, closely involved.
Mr Bruton will be a front-bench member without portfolio and will be Fine Gael's director of elections in the coming Nice Treaty referendum.
Mr Noonan has for now declined a formal post, though he remains ready to help the party. "He is still pretty gutted about what happened. It will take him time to come back," said one colleague.
Mr Richard Bruton, who finished second behind Mr Kenny in last week's leadership parliamentary party election, will be deputy leader and also hold the high-profile finance portfolio.
Cork South West TD Mr Jim O'Keeffe has the dubious honour of being the only outgoing front-bench TD to survive the June 17th electoral disaster not to be reappointed.
As well as including the three defeated leadership candidates, Mr Kenny has included those who proposed and seconded them at last week's parliamentary party meeting, with the exception of Munster MEP Mr John Cushnahan, who seconded Mr Mitchell's nomination.
Following a meeting with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, on Tuesday, the new Fine Gael leader has quickly ended his party's boycott of the Forum on Europe.
The "context" which justified Fine Gael's past abstention no longer applied since the Government has clearly already decided to hold another referendum in the autumn.
In confident mood, Mr Kenny said his new team "is a blend of youth and experience" which included both newly elected TDs and those with Cabinet experience. "What they each have in common is a strong determination to give a fresh start to politics. It will demonstrate to the Irish people that they do have an alternative, an alternative that has a clear agenda for the future," he said.
During the election campaign, both Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats repeatedly demanded detailed economic costings from every other party.
"One would have expected them to practise what they preach, but instead of a torrent of specifics, the Programme for Government contains only the froth and the bubble of aspiration.
"In fact, if the programme is notable for anything, it is its elasticity, its lack of any measurable timeframe for delivery and the absence of targets," Mr Kenny said.
One of Mr Kenny's strongest supporters during his election campaign, Sligo-Leitrim TD Mr John Perry, is to be nominated as Fine Gael's chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts.
Mr Kenny has already appointed a number of deputy spokespersons and more will be chosen once the Taoiseach appoints his full junior ministerial team.
They are Mr Paul McGrath (Finance); Mr Gerard Murphy (Enterprise, Trade and Employment); Mr Tom Hayes (Agriculture and Food); Mr David Stanton (Education and Science with special responsibility for information society); Mr Paul Kehoe (Communications, Marine and Natural Resources); Mr Seymour Crawford (Community, Rural and Gaeltacht affairs); Mr Dan Neville (Health and Children); Mr Pat Breen (Transport); Mr Jim O'Keeffe (Justice, Equality and Law Reform); Mr Pádraic McCormack (Environment and Local Government), and Mr Damien English (Arts, Sport and Tourism).Mr Richard Bruton (Deputy leader); Mr John Bruton (without portfolio); Mr Gay Mitchell (Foreign Affairs); Mr Phil Hogan (Enterprise, Trade and Employment); Mr Dinny McGinley (Defence); Mr Billy Timmins (Agriculture and Food); Ms Olwyn Enright (Education and Science); Ms Olivia Mitchell (Health and Children); Mr Simon Coveney (Communications, Marine and Natural Resources); Mr Denis Naughten (Transport); Mr Bernard Allen (Environment and Local Government); Mr Fergus O'Dowd (Community, Rural and Gaeltacht affairs); Mr Michael Ring (Social and Family Affairs), Mr John Deasy (Justice, Equality and Law Reform); Mr Jimmy Deenihan (Arts, Sports and Tourism), Mr Paul Connaughton (Regional Development) and Mr Bernard Durkan (Chief Whip).
