Minister for Education (Ireland)

The Minister for Education (Irish: An tAire Oideachais) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Education. The current Minister for Education is Norma Foley, TD.

Minister for Education
Incumbent
Norma Foley
since 27 June 2020
Department of Education
Member of
Reports toTaoiseach
SeatDublin, Ireland
AppointerPresident of Ireland on the nomination of the Taoiseach
Inaugural holderJohn J. O'Kelly as Minister for Irish
Formation29 June 1920
WebsiteDepartment of Education

She is assisted by Josepha Madigan, TD, Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion.[1]

Functions

The minister engages in a wide range of activities relating to education in the Republic of Ireland, including policy planning, quality assurance and the provision of a broad range of services.

The department officially aims to:

  • Promote equity and inclusion
  • Promote lifelong learning
  • Plan for education that is relevant to personal, social, cultural and economic needs.

In recent years some of these functions have been devolved to statutory authorities, in particular the Higher Education Authority, the National Qualifications Authority and the State Examinations Commission. Irish universities and colleges are to a large extent free of government control, with this being largely limited to policy formation and statistics preparation.

History

In 1919, the Gaelic League passed a motion calling for the Dáil to appoint a Minister for Irish, which was read into the record of the Dáil by the Ceann Comhairle.[2] On 29 June 1920, John J. O'Kelly, known in Irish as Seán Ua Ceallaigh, and also by the pen name Sceilg, was appointed as Minister for Irish.[3] The portfolio was created to promote the use of the Irish language throughout the country.

After the Second Dáil met in August 1921, the President Éamon de Valera proposed that this position be altered to that of Minister for Education, saying "It was obvious the Minister in charge should be capable of dealing with the part referring to Irish but he thought the Department should have a wider meaning than at present". This was accepted by the Dáil.[4] The following day, when de Valera proposed his new ministry, O'Kelly was proposed as Minister for Education, continuing in his previous position with an expanded function.[5]

It was given a statutory basis in the Irish Free State as one of the positions in the Executive Council under the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924.

List of office-holders
  Denotes acting Minister

Minister for Irish 1920–1921

Name Term of office Party Government(s)[lower-alpha 1]
John J. O'Kelly 29 June 1920 26 August 1921 Sinn Féin 2nd DM

Minister for Education 1921–1997

Name Term of office Party Government(s)
John J. O'Kelly[lower-alpha 2] 26 August 1921 9 January 1922 Sinn Féin 3rd DM
Michael Hayes 11 January 1922 9 September 1922 Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty) 4th DM
Fionán Lynch 1 April 1922 30 August 1922 Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty) 1st PG
Eoin MacNeill 30 August 1922 24 November 1925 Cumann na nGaedheal 2nd PG • 5th DM • 1st EC • 2nd EC
John M. O'Sullivan 28 January 1926 9 March 1932 Cumann na nGaedheal 3rd EC • 4th EC • 5th EC
Thomas Derrig (1st time) 9 March 1932 8 September 1939 Fianna Fáil 6th EC • 7th EC • 8th EC • 1st • 2nd
Seán T. O'Kelly 8 September 1939 27 September 1939 Fianna Fáil 2nd
Éamon de Valera (acting) 27 September 1939 18 June 1940 Fianna Fáil 2nd
Thomas Derrig (2nd time) 18 June 1940 18 February 1948 Fianna Fáil 2nd • 3rd • 4th
Richard Mulcahy (1st time) 18 February 1948 13 June 1951 Fine Gael 5th
Seán Moylan 13 June 1951 2 June 1954 Fianna Fáil 6th
Richard Mulcahy (2nd time) 2 June 1954 20 March 1957 Fine Gael 7th
Jack Lynch (1st time) 20 March 1957 23 June 1959 Fianna Fáil 8th
Patrick Hillery 23 June 1959 21 April 1965 Fianna Fáil 9th • 10th
George Colley 21 April 1965 13 July 1966 Fianna Fáil 11th
Donogh O'Malley 13 July 1966 10 March 1968 Fianna Fáil 11th • 12th
Jack Lynch (acting) 10 March 1968 26 March 1968 Fianna Fáil 12th
Brian Lenihan 26 March 1968 2 July 1969 Fianna Fáil 12th
Pádraig Faulkner 2 July 1969 14 March 1973 Fianna Fáil 13th
Richard Burke 14 March 1973 2 December 1976 Fine Gael 14th
Peter Barry 2 December 1976 5 July 1977 Fine Gael 14th
John Wilson 5 July 1977 30 June 1981 Fianna Fáil 15th • 16th
John Boland 30 June 1981 9 March 1982 Fine Gael 17th
Martin O'Donoghue 9 March 1982 6 October 1982 Fianna Fáil 18th
Charles Haughey (acting) 7 October 1982 27 October 1982 Fianna Fáil 18th
Gerard Brady 27 October 1982 14 December 1982 Fianna Fáil 18th
Gemma Hussey 14 December 1982 14 February 1986 Fine Gael 19th
Patrick Cooney 14 February 1986 10 March 1987 Fine Gael 19th
Mary O'Rourke 10 March 1987 14 November 1991 Fianna Fáil 20th • 21st
Noel Davern 14 November 1991 11 February 1992 Fianna Fáil 21st
Séamus Brennan 11 February 1992 12 January 1993 Fianna Fáil 22nd
Niamh Bhreathnach (1st time) 12 January 1993 17 November 1994 Labour 23rd
Michael Smith 18 November 1994 15 December 1994 Fianna Fáil 23rd
Niamh Bhreathnach (2nd time) 15 December 1994 26 June 1997 Labour 24th
Micheál Martin 26 June 1997 30 September 1997 Fianna Fáil 25th

Minister for Education and Science 1997–2010

Name Term of office Party Government(s)
Micheál Martin 30 September 1997 27 January 2000 Fianna Fáil 25th
Michael Woods 27 January 2000 6 June 2002 Fianna Fáil 25th
Noel Dempsey 6 June 2002 29 September 2004 Fianna Fáil 26th
Mary Hanafin 29 September 2004 7 May 2008 Fianna Fáil 26th • 27th
Batt O'Keeffe 7 May 2008 23 March 2010 Fianna Fáil 27th • 28th
Mary Coughlan 23 March 2010 2 May 2010 Fianna Fáil 28th

Minister for Education and Skills 2010–2020

Name Term of office Party Government(s)
Mary Coughlan 2 May 2010 9 March 2011 Fianna Fáil 28th
Ruairi Quinn 9 March 2011 11 July 2014 Labour 29th
Jan O'Sullivan 11 July 2014 6 May 2016 Labour 29th
Richard Bruton 6 May 2016 16 October 2018 Fine Gael 30th • 31st
Joe McHugh 16 October 2018 27 June 2020 Fine Gael 31st
Norma Foley 27 June 2020 22 October 2020 Fianna Fáil 32nd

Minister for Education 2020–present

Name Term of office Party Government(s)
Norma Foley 22 October 2020 Incumbent Fianna Fáil 32nd • 33rd
Notes
  1. Before 1937: DM – Dáil Ministry; PG – Provisional Government; EC – Executive Council.
  2. John J. O'Kelly held the title of Secretary for Education.

References
  1. "List of Ministers and Ministers of State", Government of Ireland, archived from the original on 7 August 2020, retrieved 31 July 2020
  2. "THE IRISH LANGUAGE – Dáil Éireann (1st Dáil) – Monday, 27 October 1919". Houses of the Oireachtas. 27 October 1919. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  3. "RATIFICATION OF MINISTERS – Dáil Éireann (1st Dáil) – Tuesday, 29 June 1920". Houses of the Oireachtas. 29 June 1920. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  4. "ALTERATION OF MINISTRY OF IRISH TO MINISTRY OF EDUCATION – Dáil Éireann (2nd Dáil) – Thursday, 25 August 1921". Houses of the Oireachtas. 25 August 1921. Archived from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  5. "THE NEW MINISTRY – Dáil Éireann (2nd Dáil) – Friday, 26 August 1921". Houses of the Oireachtas. 26 August 1921. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
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