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Irish government cabinet minister From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Minister for Justice (Irish: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Justice. The Minister for Justice has overall responsibility for law and order in Ireland.[1]
Minister for Justice | |
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Department of Justice | |
Member of | |
Reports to | Taoiseach |
Seat | Dublin, Ireland |
Appointer | President of Ireland on the nomination of the Taoiseach |
Inaugural holder | Michael Collins as Minister for Home Affairs |
Formation | 22 January 1919 |
Website | Official website ![]() |
The current Minister for Justice is Helen McEntee, TD. McEntee is assisted by a Minister of State:
From 1919 until 1924 the position was known as the Minister for Home Affairs.[4][5] In 1997, the functions of the Minister for Equality and Law Reform were transferred to this Minister, and it was renamed as the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, a title which it retained until 2010.[6] The minister held the title of Minister for Justice and Equality from 2011 to 2020.[7] As of 2020, the position is known as Minister for Justice.[8] This followed a transfer of functions to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
The Minister's main areas of responsibility include:[9]
Minister for Home Affairs 1919–1924 | |||||
Name | Term of office | Party | Government(s)[lower-alpha 1] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Collins | 22 January 1919 | 1 April 1919 | Sinn Féin | 1st DM | |
Arthur Griffith | 2 April 1919 | 22 August 1921 | Sinn Féin | 2nd DM | |
Austin Stack[lower-alpha 2] | 22 August 1921 | 9 January 1922 | Sinn Féin | 3rd DM | |
Eamonn Duggan | 10 January 1922 | 9 September 1922 | Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty) | 4th DM • 1st PG | |
Kevin O'Higgins | 30 August 1922 | 2 June 1924 | Cumann na nGaedheal | 2nd PG • 5th DM • 1st EC • 2nd EC | |
Minister for Justice 1924–1997 | |||||
Name | Term of office | Party | Government(s) | ||
Kevin O'Higgins | 2 June 1924 | 10 July 1927 | Cumann na nGaedheal | 2nd EC • 3rd EC | |
W. T. Cosgrave[lower-alpha 3] | 10 July 1927 | 12 October 1927 | Cumann na nGaedheal | 3rd EC | |
James FitzGerald-Kenney | 12 October 1927 | 9 March 1932 | Cumann na nGaedheal | 4th EC • 5th EC | |
James Geoghegan | 9 March 1932 | 8 February 1933 | Fianna Fáil | 6th EC | |
P. J. Ruttledge | 8 February 1933 | 8 September 1939 | Fianna Fáil | 7th EC • 8th EC • 1st • 2nd | |
Gerald Boland (1st time) |
8 September 1939 | 18 February 1948 | Fianna Fáil | 2nd • 3rd • 4th | |
Seán Mac Eoin | 18 February 1948 | 7 March 1951 | Fine Gael | 5th | |
Daniel Morrissey | 7 March 1951 | 13 June 1951 | Fine Gael | 5th | |
Gerald Boland (2nd time) |
13 June 1951 | 2 June 1954 | Fianna Fáil | 6th | |
James Everett | 2 June 1954 | 20 March 1957 | Labour | 7th | |
Oscar Traynor | 20 March 1957 | 11 October 1961 | Fianna Fáil | 8th • 9th | |
Charles Haughey | 11 October 1961 | 8 October 1964 | Fianna Fáil | 10th | |
Seán Lemass (acting) | 8 October 1964 | 3 November 1964 | Fianna Fáil | 10th | |
Brian Lenihan Snr | 3 November 1964 | 26 March 1968 | Fianna Fáil | 10th • 11th • 12th | |
Mícheál Ó Móráin | 27 March 1968 | 5 May 1970 | Fianna Fáil | 12th • 13th | |
Desmond O'Malley | 5 May 1970 | 14 March 1973 | Fianna Fáil | 13th | |
Patrick Cooney | 14 March 1973 | 5 July 1977 | Fine Gael | 14th | |
Gerry Collins (1st time) |
5 July 1977 | 30 June 1981 | Fianna Fáil | 15th • 16th | |
Jim Mitchell | 30 June 1981 | 9 March 1982 | Fine Gael | 17th | |
Seán Doherty | 9 March 1982 | 14 December 1982 | Fianna Fáil | 18th | |
Michael Noonan | 14 December 1982 | 14 February 1986 | Fine Gael | 19th | |
Alan Dukes | 14 February 1986 | 10 March 1987 | Fine Gael | 19th | |
Gerry Collins (2nd time) |
10 March 1987 | 12 July 1989 | Fianna Fáil | 20th | |
Ray Burke[lower-alpha 4] | 12 July 1989 | 11 February 1992 | Fianna Fáil | 21st | |
Pádraig Flynn | 11 February 1992 | 4 January 1993 | Fianna Fáil | 22nd | |
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn | 4 January 1993 | 15 December 1994 | Fianna Fáil | 23rd | |
Nora Owen | 15 December 1994 | 26 June 1997 | Fine Gael | 24th | |
John O'Donoghue | 26 June 1997 | 8 July 1997 | Fianna Fáil | 25th | |
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform 1997–2010 | |||||
Name | Term of office | Party | Government(s) | ||
John O'Donoghue | 8 July 1997 | 6 June 2002 | Fianna Fáil | 25th | |
Michael McDowell | 6 June 2002 | 14 June 2007 | Progressive Democrats | 26th | |
Brian Lenihan Jnr | 14 June 2007 | 7 May 2008 | Fianna Fáil | 27th | |
Dermot Ahern | 7 May 2008 | 23 March 2010 | Fianna Fáil | 28th | |
Minister for Justice and Law Reform 2010–2011 | |||||
Name | Term of office | Party | Government(s) | ||
Dermot Ahern | 23 March 2010 | 19 January 2011 | Fianna Fáil | 28th | |
Brendan Smith[lower-alpha 5] | 20 January 2011 | 9 March 2011 | Fianna Fáil | 28th | |
Alan Shatter[lower-alpha 6] | 9 March 2011 | 2 April 2011 | Fine Gael | 29th | |
Minister for Justice and Equality 2011–2020 | |||||
Name | Term of office | Party | Government(s) | ||
Alan Shatter[lower-alpha 6] | 2 April 2011 | 7 May 2014 | Fine Gael | 29th | |
Frances Fitzgerald | 8 May 2014 | 14 June 2017 | Fine Gael | 29th • 30th | |
Charles Flanagan | 14 June 2017 | 27 June 2020 | Fine Gael | 31st | |
Helen McEntee | 27 June 2020 | 1 November 2020 | Fine Gael | 32nd | |
Minister for Justice 2020–present | |||||
Name | Term of office | Party | Government(s) | ||
Helen McEntee | 1 November 2020 | 27 April 2021 | Fine Gael | 32nd | |
Heather Humphreys[lower-alpha 7] | 27 April 2021 | 1 November 2021 | Fine Gael | ||
Helen McEntee[lower-alpha 8] | 1 November 2021 | 25 November 2022 | Fine Gael | ||
Heather Humphreys[lower-alpha 7] | 25 November 2022 | 17 December 2022 | Fine Gael | ||
Simon Harris[lower-alpha 9] | 17 December 2022 | 1 June 2023 | Fine Gael | 33rd | |
Helen McEntee | 1 June 2023 | Incumbent | Fine Gael | 33rd • 34th |