Mary Butler to be Government Chief Whip
The new Government Chief Whip Mary Butler pictured with Mayor of Waterford Cllr Jason Murphy at the Waterford count centre at SETU during the General Election.
Waterford TD Mary Butler is set to take up the role of Government Chief Whip in the newly formed cabinet.
The position, which is a super junior ministership, is set to be a significant role in the term of the government but will leave the Déise short of a senior minister.
The Fianna Fáil TD will have responsibility for Mental Health as chief whip, a thematic continuation of her role in the previous government as Minister of State in the Department of Health with responsibility for Mental Health and Older People.
The government chief whip is a Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and does attend cabinet meetings.
Such Ministers of State, who attend cabinet are referred to as super juniors. In this position, Minister of State Butler will attend cabinet meetings but will not have a vote at the table or be one of the 15 formal members of the government.
The Minister of State in this position is responsible for 'whipping-in' the elected members of the government parties - a term derived from the English tradition of a hunt having an assistant who ensures the hounds on a hunt stay inside the pack.
Similarly in parliamentary politics, the 'whip' is expected to ensure that the government voting block does not splinter and will vote according to the party and government line.
With Micheál Martin being elected Taoiseach in the Dáil today, Simon Harris was confirmed as Tánaiste and is likely to occupy a strengthened Foreign Affairs position.
The full list of Ministers is being announced as the day continues.
Butler's fellow Government TD from Waterford, Fine Gael's John Cummins has yet to be allocated a role in the new government.
