The Minister for Finance ( ga, An tAire Airgeadais) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland. The Minister for Finance leads the Department of Finance and is responsible for all financial and monetary matters of the state; and is considered the second most important member of the Government of Ireland, after the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

. The current office holder is Michael McGrath, TD.

Overview

The Minister for Finance holds the second most important ministerial position in the

Irish Cabinet The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet (government), cabinet that exercises executive (government), executive authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a gove ...

after that of the

. He or she is in charge of the Department of Finance responsible for all financial matters in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

. It is one of three positions in the government which the Constitution requires to be held by a member of Dáil Éireann, the other two being

and

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Tao ...

. Many Ministers who have held the Finance portfolio have gone on to become

, including Jack Lynch,

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

Albert Reynolds Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991, Minister for Indust ...

, John Bruton,

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

and

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...

. The department and minister are occasionally called the ''Irish Exchequer'' (or simply the ''Exchequer''), a term previously used under the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland.

Budget

One of the most important aspects of the Minister's work is the creation of the annual Budget which is announced to the Dáil in a speech, which must be delivered before 15 October due to the Two-Pack agreement. In the budget the Minister details the Government's spending programme for the coming year. The budget consists of: *a Financial Statement to the Dáil, *Budgetary Measures (a list of budgetary changes detailing the cost/yield of same), *Budget statistics, and *financial resolutions.

Minister for Finance since 1919

References

External links

Department of Finance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finance Government ministers of the Republic of Ireland Lists of government ministers of Ireland Economy of the Republic of Ireland Ireland, Finance Minister

Overview

Budget

Minister for Finance since 1919

See also

References

External links