Discord over finance minister continues as McGrath concerned over diminution of role

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath has expressed concern that the role of minister for finance would be significantly diminished it the holder of the job did not represent Ireland on the Eurogroup.

There is discord between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael on whether Paschal Donohoe could continue to remain on in his Eurogroup role in the hope that he would get a second term as its president.

The tension shows no sign of abating as Mr McGrath questioned the implications of Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s latest comments on the matter and also reiterated his belief that it should all be discussed privately within Government.

The roles of minister for finance and minister for public expenditure and reform are due to switch in December when Mr Varadkar swaps roles with Taoiseach Michéal Martin as part of the Coalition deal.

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On Sunday, Mr Varadkar said he would agree to the finance role switching to Fianna Fáil saying “we have an agreement as a coalition”.

However, he again suggested that Mr Donohoe could stay on as Eurogroup president without being minister for finance, provided he was re-elected by Eurogroup colleagues.

He told RTÉ Radio 1’s This Week programme that Ireland could hold on to the position of Eurogroup president and added: “I think it would be in the interests of the country.”

[ Ireland could lose Eurogroup presidency after Cabinet reshuffle ]

[ Eurogroup dispute suggests Coalition switchover in December will be rocky ]

Mr McGrath later said the matter had been “aired publicly now on a number of occasions and it has yet to be raised with the Taoiseach”.

He also said: “I think it is important to note that the minister for finance is the person who represents the country at the Eurogroup. Not to have that continue would represent a significant diminution in the role of the minister for finance.”

He said it would also raise questions about who would represent Ireland at the Ecofin meetings of European Union finance ministers and who would be responsible for answering Dáil questions on European economic policy, capital markets and banking union.

“It does sound like tantamount to a division of the Department of Finance, which is not something we would agree with,” said the Minister. “But again, the Tánaiste should be discussing these issues directly with the Taoiseach. I think that’s the way that these matters should be teased out.”

There is precedent for a Eurogroup president to continue in the role while changing ministries. Jean-Claude Juncker was prime minister of Luxembourg throughout his tenure as Eurogroup president from 2005 and 2013. He was his country’s minister for finance as well until 2009 but following an election that year, Mr Juncker became minister for the treasury.

His replacement as minister for finance, Luc Frieden, attended the Eurogroup as Luxembourg’s representative, but Mr Juncker stayed as chair.

Mr Varadkar referred to this arrangement on Sunday when he said there had been a misunderstanding by some commentators that a person has to be the finance minister to be president of the Eurogroup. He said this misunderstanding had arisen partially because the Government had not talked about the issue.

“Our focus in Government hasn’t been on who has what job in December, it’s been on the budget, been on the cost-of-living crisis, has been on Brexit,” he said.

He said hanging on to the Eurogroup presidency would be in Ireland’s interests, adding: “It’s about a small country, being at the top table, being in the room when it happens, being part of those decisions and protecting our interests.”

He said: “Part of the reason why this became a controversy in the media is because we as party leaders haven’t discussed what the new Cabinet will look like. It’s not our focus.”

He said such discussions would probably take place in November or December.