Minister for Health (Ireland)
| Minister For Health | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | President of Ireland on the nomination of the Taoiseach |
| Inaugural holder | James Ryan |
| Formation | 22 January 1947 |
| Website |
health |
The Minister for Health (Irish: An tAire Sláinte) is the senior minister at the Department of Health in the Government of Ireland and is responsible for healthcare in the Republic of Ireland and related services.
The current Minister for Health is Simon Harris, TD. He is assisted by:
History
Health care formed part of the portfolio of the Minister for Local Government and Public Health until 22 January 1947. On that date the new position of Minister for Health was created, with complete control over all policy regarding health care provision in Ireland. In later years, the health portfolio was occasionally coupled with that for social welfare portfolio, in which case the incumbent was known as the Minister for Health and Social Welfare.
In recent years, and especially since the tenure of Michael Noonan in 1994–1997, being appointed as minister has become somewhat of a "poisoned chalice" in government circles and a portfolio to be avoided by aspiring politicians, during his tenure Brian Cowen famously referred to the Department of Health as Angola due the fact that there were landmines everywhere.[1] A number of scandals, mostly due to medical negligence, have meant that the minister immediately becomes identified with the scandal. For instance the Hepatitis C scandal, the withholding of baby organs without parental consent or knowledge, the Michael Neary saga in Drogheda and other high profile medical scandals have dogged the minister and department. Additionally the minister has to deal with logistic issues not seen in other departments such as strikes, shortages and queues which are all too familiar in clinics and hospitals around the country.
Overview
The Minister's duties include the creation and assessment of policy for the health services. The main policy sections of the Department, together with their responsibilities, are:
Child Care
- Child care legislation
- National Children's Office
Continuing Care
- Services for homeless adults
- Services for people with disabilities
- Services for the elderly and palliative care
Finance
- Health insurance
- Hospital planning
- Public-Private Partnerships
Personnel Management and Development
- Nursing policy
- Personnel management and development
Primary Care
- Community health (child health, dental services, AIDS, reproductive health)
- General medical services
Secondary Care
- Blood policy
- Hospital services
Strategic Policy and Corporate Services
- Corporate Services
- Health promotion
- Health Strategy Legislation
List of office-holders
| No. | Name | Term of office | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Séamus Burke | 2 June 1924 | 23 June 1927 | Cumann na nGaedheal | ||
| 4. | Richard Mulcahy | 23 June 1927 | 9 March 1932 | Cumann na nGaedheal | |
| 5. | Seán T. O'Kelly | 9 March 1932 | 8 September 1939 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 6. | P. J. Ruttledge | 8 September 1939 | 14 August 1941 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 7. | Éamon de Valera (acting) | 15 August 1941 | 18 August 1941 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 8. | Seán MacEntee | 18 August 1941 | 22 January 1947 | Fianna Fáil | |
| No. | Name | Term of office | Party | ||
| 1. | James Ryan (1st time) | 22 January 1947 | 18 February 1948 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 2. | Noël Browne | 18 February 1948 | 11 April 1951 | Clann na Poblachta | |
| 3. | John A. Costello (acting) | 12 April 1951 | 13 June 1951 | Fine Gael | |
| *James Ryan (2nd time) | 13 June 1951 | 2 June 1954 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| 4. | Tom O'Higgins | 2 June 1954 | 20 March 1957 | Fine Gael | |
| 5. | *Seán MacEntee | 20 March 1957 | 21 April 1965 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 6. | Donogh O'Malley | 21 April 1965 | 13 July 1966 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 7. | Seán Flanagan | 13 July 1966 | 2 July 1969 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 8. | Erskine H. Childers | 2 July 1969 | 14 March 1973 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 9. | *Brendan Corish | 14 March 1973 | 5 July 1977 | Labour Party | |
| 10. | *Charles Haughey | 5 July 1977 | 11 December 1979 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 11. | *Michael Woods (1st time) | 12 December 1979 | 30 June 1981 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 12. | *Eileen Desmond | 30 June 1981 | 9 March 1982 | Labour Party | |
| *Michael Woods (2nd time) | 9 March 1982 | 14 December 1982 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| 13. | *Barry Desmond | 14 December 1982 | 20 January 1987 | Labour Party | |
| 14. | John Boland | 20 January 1987 | 10 March 1987 | Fine Gael | |
| 15. | Rory O'Hanlon | 10 March 1987 | 14 November 1991 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 16. | Mary O'Rourke | 14 November 1991 | 11 February 1992 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 17. | John O'Connell | 11 February 1992 | 12 January 1993 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 18. | Brendan Howlin | 12 January 1993 | 17 November 1994 | Labour Party | |
| *Michael Woods (3rd time) | 17 November 1994 | 15 December 1994 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| 19. | Michael Noonan | 15 December 1994 | 26 June 1997 | Fine Gael | |
| 20. | Brian Cowen | 26 June 1997 | 12 July 1997 | Fianna Fáil | |
| No. | Name | Term of office | Party | ||
| Brian Cowen | 12 July 1997 | 27 January 2000 | Fianna Fáil | ||
| 21. | Micheál Martin | 27 January 2000 | 29 September 2004 | Fianna Fáil | |
| 22. | Mary Harney | 29 September 2004 | 19 January 2011 | PD / Ind | |
| 23. | Mary Coughlan | 20 January 2011 | 9 March 2011 | Fianna Fáil | |
| No. | Name | Term of office | Party | ||
| 24. | James Reilly | 9 March 2011 | 11 July 2014 | Fine Gael | |
| 25. | Leo Varadkar | 11 July 2014 | 8 May 2016 | Fine Gael | |
| 26. | Simon Harris | 8 May 2016 | Incumbent | Fine Gael | |
The asterisk (*) indicates ministers who held the Health and Social Welfare portfolios simultaneously.
References
- ↑ Fergal Bowers (1 January 2003). "Heath – review of the year". IrishHealth.com. Retrieved 15 May 2008.