Almost all departments will be headed by new ministers as Micheál Martin and Simon Harris seek to freshen the look of the returning Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael-led coalition due to be formed on Wednesday.
Although final decisions will not be made until then – and are often changed at the last minute – insiders speculate there could be as many as six or more new members of the cabinet.
With Mr Harris and Mr Martin swapping jobs, Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe is due to switch places with Fianna Fáil Minister for Finance Jack Chambers, who will take the Department of Public Expenditure, maintaining his budget partnership with Mr Donohoe.
The rest of the appointments are more uncertain. However, among political sources across the outgoing government there is a broad consensus that the Fine Gael deputy leader Helen McEntee will become the next minister for education, while Peter Burke is expected by many to retain his post as Minister for Enterprise.
There is expected to be two new Fine Gael members of cabinet, with Kildare TD Martin Heydon widely expected to be appointed as minister for agriculture and Dún Laoghaire TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill tipped for the Department of Health.
Fine Gael will also hold the Department of Arts, Sports and Media, with Patrick O’Donovan favourite to be given the post ahead of Hildegarde Naughton, who may be appointed as Fine Gael’s super junior minister, with rights of attendance at cabinet.
The picture with Fianna Fáil is much less firm. Though Darragh O’Brien was widely tipped to remain as Minister for Housing, sources on Tuesday said he could be moved to the Department of Transport, and would also be given responsibility for climate change.
If he moves, his replacement could be James Browne, the Wexford TD who is said to have impressed Micheál Martin with his performance as a junior minister at the Department of Justice. Mr Browne is also said to be in the running for the senior job at justice, but this may end up with Dublin Bay South TD Jim O’Callaghan.
Norma Foley is expected to remain in the cabinet – perhaps in the Department of Social Protection – and the Waterford TD Mary Butler is expected to be promoted, with some sources expecting her to be moved to the Department of Children and Disabilities, though others said no decision had yet been made.
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This leaves two jobs at cabinet – the Department of Higher Education and chief whip – to be filled, with, sources say, four contenders in the running: outgoing agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue and junior ministers Dara Calleary, Thomas Byrne and James Lawless.
It is expected that Mr Martin will also reappoint Rossa Fanning as attorney general.
The return of the Dáil on Wednesday – for only one day until an expected full return on February 5th – will also probably see a number of rows over speaking rights for the opposition.
A joint submission from all the Opposition parties and Independent TDs has argued there is no precedent for the decision by Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy to recognise an “opposition” technical group that includes four members who support the new government. This includes three members of the Regional Independents Group (RIG) – Michael Lowry, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole – and Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae.
Furthermore, Sinn Féin has criticised what it says is a move to prevent its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, from speaking in the House if she is nominated as taoiseach by her party on Wednesday.
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