Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

(Ireland)

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Irish: Aire Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta) is the senior minister at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the Irish Government.

The current Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment is Micheál Martin, TD. He is assisted by:

Seán Haughey, TD – Minister of State with special responsibility for Lifelong Learning, Youth Work and School Transport.
Jimmy Devins, TD – Minister of State with special responsibility for Disability Issues and Mental Health.
Billy Kelleher, TD – Minister of State (with special responsibility for Labour Affairs)
John McGuinness, TD – Minister of State with special responsibility for Trade and Commerce.
Michael Ahern, TD – Minister of State with special responsibility for Innovation Policy.

Overview

The Minister heads one of the most important economic departments in the Irish Government, responsible for the implementation of policy in five key areas - Enterprise, Innovation, Growth; Quality, Work and Learning; Making Markets and Regulation work better; Quality, Value and Continuous Improvement; and the European Union. A large element of the work of the Department arises from the Republic's membership of a number of international organisations, in particular the European Union and the World Trade Organisation. The Department plays an active role in the development of EU and WTO policies, particularly to ensure that the Republic's interests are protected. The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment is organised into seven divisions. They are:

Labour Force Development Division
Competitiveness and International Affairs Division
Employment Rights & Industrial Relations Division
Science, Technology and Intellectual Property Division
Corporate Services & Economic Policy Division
Commerce, Consumers and Competition Division
Enterprise and Agencies Division

List of office-holders

Minister for Trade & Commerce 1919–1922

#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	1.	Ernest Blythe	June 17, 1919	January 11, 1922	Sinn Féin

Minister for Trade 1922

#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
		Ernest Blythe	January 11, 1922	August 30, 1922	Sinn Féin

Minister for Industry & Commerce 1922–1977

	Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	Ernest Blythe	August 30, 1922	September 9, 1922	Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
2.	Joseph McGrath	August 30, 1922	March 7, 1924	Cumann na nGaedhael
3.	Patrick McGilligan	April 4, 1924	March 9, 1932	Cumann na nGaedhael
4.	Seán Lemass (1st time)	March 9, 1932	September 16, 1939	Fianna Fáil
5.	Seán MacEntee	September 16, 1939	August 18, 1941	Fianna Fáil
	Seán Lemass (2nd time)	August 18, 1941	February 18, 1948	Fianna Fáil
6.	Daniel Morrissey	February 18, 1948	March 7, 1951	Fine Gael
7.	Thomas F. O'Higgins	March 7, 1951	June 13, 1951	Fine Gael
	Seán Lemass (3rd time)	June 13, 1951	June 2, 1954	Fianna Fáil
8.	William Norton	June 2, 1954	March 20, 1957	Labour Party
	Seán Lemass (4th time)	March 20, 1957	June 23, 1959	Fianna Fáil
9.	Jack Lynch	June 23, 1959	April 21, 1965	Fianna Fáil
10.	Patrick Hillery	April 21, 1965	July 13, 1966	Fianna Fáil
11.	George Colley	July 13, 1966	May 9, 1970	Fianna Fáil
12.	Patrick Lalor	May 9, 1970	March 14, 1973	Fianna Fáil
13.	Justin Keating	March 14, 1973	July 5, 1977	Labour Party
14.	Desmond O'Malley (1st time)	July 5, 1977	September 23, 1977	Fianna Fáil

Minister for Industry, Commerce & Energy 1977–1980

#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
		Desmond O'Malley	September 23, 1977	January 23, 1980	Fianna Fáil

Minister for Industry, Commerce & Tourism 1980–1981

#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
		Desmond O'Malley	January 23, 1980	June 30, 1981	Fianna Fáil
	15.	John Kelly (pending abolition of dept.)	June 30, 1981	August 21, 1981	Fine Gael

Minister for Trade, Commerce & Tourism 1981–1983

	Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	John Kelly (assuming new dept.)	August 21, 1981	March 9, 1982	Fine Gael
	Desmond O'Malley (2nd time)	March 9, 1982	October 6, 1982	Fianna Fáil
16.	Paddy Power	October 7, 1982	October 27, 1982	Fianna Fáil
17.	Pádraig Flynn (1st time)	October 27, 1982	December 14, 1982	Fianna Fáil
18.	Frank Cluskey	December 14, 1982	December 8, 1983	Labour Party
19.	Garret FitzGerald (acting)	December 8, 1983	December 13, 1983	Fine Gael
20.	John Bruton	December 13, 1983	December 17, 1983	Fine Gael

Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce & Tourism 1983–1986

#		Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
		John Bruton	December 17, 1983	February 14, 1986	Fine Gael
	21.	Michael Noonan	February 14, 1986	February 19, 1986	Fine Gael

Minister for Industry & Commerce 1986–1993

	Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	Michael Noonan	February 19, 1986	March 10, 1987	Fine Gael
22.	Albert Reynolds	March 10, 1987	November 24, 1988	Fianna Fáil
23.	Ray Burke	November 24, 1988	July 12, 1989	Fianna Fáil
	Desmond O'Malley (3rd time)	July 12, 1989	November 4, 1992	Progressive Democrats
	Pádraig Flynn (2nd time)	November 5, 1992	January 4, 1993	Fianna Fáil
24.	Bertie Ahern	January 4, 1993	January 12, 1993	Fianna Fáil
25.	Ruairi Quinn	January 12, 1993	January 21, 1993	Labour Party

Minister for Enterprise & Employment 1993–1997

	Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	Ruairi Quinn	January 21, 1993	November 17, 1994	Labour Party
26.	Charlie McCreevy	November 18, 1994	December 15, 1994	Fianna Fáil
27.	Richard Bruton	December 15, 1994	June 26, 1997	Fine Gael
28.	Mary Harney	June 26, 1997	July 12, 1997	Progressive Democrats