Micheal Martin faced a double backlash within hours of his appointment for ignoring the country’s west coast in Cabinet and sidelining others tipped for ministerial posts.
TDs from rural areas rounded on the Taoiseach after it emerged there are no senior ministers from any of the counties stretching from Malin Head in Donegal to the border of Kerry and Limerick.
And there’s nothing for most of the South-east, with Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford all without representation too.
The combined population of the unrepresented comes close to two million, which leaves almost half the country’s population without a decision-making seat in Government.
Labour leader Alan Kelly last night branded the snub “astonishing and deeply worrying”.
Mr Martin, on his first full day in the hotseat today, also has to quell divisions within his own party regarding those overlooked for Cabinet jobs.
One party source told the Irish Mirror: “It’s a bitter pill to swallow for many big names and I’m sure on reflection of their work up to this date within the party, it would of course instigate a lot of disappointment.”
Nine of the 15 new ministers – 11 men and just four women – come from the Greater Dublin area, two from Greystones in Wicklow and three from the one constituency in Cork.
Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway Michael Fitzmaurice was furious with the new Cabinet’s “ridiculous, absolutely scandalous” divide.
He produced a map of the country to illustrate the imbalance.
It shows a huge red patch from Donegal to Kerry and stretching over as far as Meath, representing the areas where there are no ministers.
Mr Fitzmaurice said: “After seeing the make-up of the Cabinet, I was baffled to see that there is not one senior minister from the top of Donegal to the bottom of Limerick.
“I threw down the gauntlet to the new Taoiseach Micheal Martin to ensure that the people of the West of Ireland are treated fairly moving forward during the term of this Government.”
Independent Sligo-Leitrim TD Marian Harkin last night raged: “My vote for the establishment of this Government was based on the immediate need for a stable government to tackle the very immediate challenges of the Covid epidemic and the serious economic outcomes which will arise from Brexit.”
In negotiations with the coalition parties on the formation of Government she said she had “stressed the vital need for more balanced regional development”.
Sinn Fein Mayo TD Rose Conway-Walsh said the Government will pay the price for turning its back on Mayo and the West.
She added: “Shock tremors have been vibrating throughout Rural Ireland since the new government’s Cabinet appointments were announced.
“Not one senior Minister for the western seaboard. Our region was snubbed, shunned, slighted, spurned, and disrespected.”
Galway West TD Hildegarde Naughton has been picked as a Super Junior Minister by Fine Gael leader, Leo Varadkar, and she has a seat at the Cabinet table, but no vote.
She has the mouthful of a title of being the new Junior Minister with Special Responsibility for International and Road Transport and Logistics.
Ms Naughton defended the Government’s regional allocation of ministers when she was rolled out on behalf of the new Government yesterday. She said: “Myself and Dara [Calleary, Fianna Fail’s Super Junior pick from Mayo] will be serving and attending Cabinet and representing the West I believe very strongly.”
Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan admitted the divvy-up may not have been perfect.
He said: “I don’t think Government can ignore any part of the country – be it the South, East, or West, or any part. It is difficult to get that regional balance when you have three different parties so you’re not picking for a full cabinet when you’re making your selection.”
The pressure will be on Mr Martin, Mr Varadkar and Mr Ryan to try and correct some of the imbalance when they announce 20 junior ministers this week.
As the new look Cabinet meets today, Fianna Fail backbenchers continue to lick their wounds having thought they were “dead certs” at the top table.
Junior minister positions are set to be handed out in the coming days and newly-elected Fianna Fail deputy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor said she wants the Taoiseach to give her a gig to represent the South-east.
The former senator said: “The South-east and Carlow in particular needs to be put back on the map.”
