Super junior ministers ‘acting as a collective authority in Cabinet meetings'
The High Court is hearing a challenge by Sinn Fein TD Pa Daly about the attendance of super junior ministers at Cabinet meetings.
Also attending court on Monday was Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and Donegal TD Pearse Doherty.
Mr Daly argues that Article 28 of the Constitution of Ireland limits the number of government members to 15.
The super junior ministers appointed include Fine Gael's Hildegarde Naughton, as well as Independents Sean Canney and Noel Grealish.
Fianna Fail's Mary Butler is also a minister of state attending Cabinet.
Senior government ministers are appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the taoiseach of the day, and with the approval of the Dail.
Super junior ministers are appointed by the government on the nomination of the taoiseach.
Feichin McDonagh SC told the three judges that the legal basis of their appointment was exactly the same as the other ministers of state who do not attend Cabinet.
He said he has queried with the respondents about what exactly is a minister of state who regularly attends government meetings.
'One would have thought following exchange of meetings there might be some consensus, but there does not appear to be a consensus,' Mr McDonagh said.
He told the court it was not possible to address the issues unless the court knows what is a super minister.
'The designation of super junior by taoiseach was in some way an exercise of executive power of the state,' he added.
He said it is suggested in the respondent's affidavit that there is an office called minister of state who regularly attends government, which Mr McDonagh said does not exist.
He added that a decision to pay an allowance to super juniors does not change that position.
'Four super juniors now get an allowance and we challenge the provisions in that legislation to allow that,' he added.
'There is minister of state who is told by Taoiseach they can regularly attend government (meetings) and if they come into that category they get 16,000 euro a year.
'But it is not an office, not enacted under the constitution and there is no underpinning to suggest that the office is being created.'
He also queried the meaning behind the words under Article 4.1, in which it states that the Government shall meet and act as a collective authority.
'What does collective authority do? They meet and with the others (ministers) they collectively act. Who is acting collectively? It is the government along with the super junior ministers,' Mr McDonagh added.
'There will be government decisions taken and government acting collectively.
'In that scenario there are extra individuals who are there present in the counsel of chamber. They are taking a full role in the formulation and formation of government policy, thereby acting as a collective authority and there is no dispute between the parties as to that being what is happening.
'The government is formulating policy and taking countless decisions and undoubtedly purporting to act as a collective authority.
'You cannot unscramble that egg. If you have government meeting with super juniors speaking to perspective government decisions and a consensus is arrived at, that decision is no less than a government decision than one that has been voted on.
'That decision is arrived at following a process of mixing yolks to getting into scramble egg and that cannot be unscrambled.'
Earlier, Ms McDonald said the Government has broken the rules.
Speaking outside court, Ms McDonald said: 'This is a challenge to a government who we believe have played fast and loose with the Constitution in a bid to secure a grubby deal with Michael Lowry and to retain office, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, we believe are acting in defiance of the Constitution.
'There are four so called super junior ministers who attend cabinet. The Constitution, in our view, is very clear. The Cabinet amounts to 15 members, and we believe that the government is breaking the rules.
'They've broken the rules because at all costs, Micheal Martin and Simon Harris wish to remain in government, so they cut this deal, as you know, with Michael Lowry, and we are here now to challenge that action and to seek clarity.'
Mr Daly brought the constitutional challenge against the Government in the High Court regarding the appointment of super junior ministers.
The case challenges what Mr Daly says is a 'deeply problematic and unconstitutional practice that has taken root in recent decades'.
He said: 'The attendance and participation of so-called 'super junior' ministers at meetings of the Government.
'This case is a constitutional challenge aimed at protecting the integrity of our system of government under Bunreacht na hEireann with which Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Lowry-led Independents are playing fast and loose.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Rebel Labour MPs get email rebuke over welfare cuts
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has issued a warning to backbench Labour MPs against future rebellions, aiming to reassert his authority within the party. Forty-seven Labour MPs voted against the government's welfare bill, which led to a last-minute climbdown by the government on benefit cuts. Labour's Chief Whip, Sir Alan Campbell, this week emailed the rebel MPs, reminding them that their votes against the frontbench position constituted breaking the party whip. Sir Keir has suspended four Labour MPs due to their involvement in the rebellion and other breaches of party discipline. The government's U-turn on welfare cuts has created a £5bn financial gap, prompting calls from some Labour MPs for a wealth tax to address the shortfall.
The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
EU tells China ties have ‘reached inflection point' at tense Beijing summit
Xi Jinping asked European officials to 'properly handle differences and frictions' as the 25th China - EU summit got underway in Beijing amid simmering tensions over trade and the Ukraine war. 'The current challenges facing Europe do not come from China,' state news agency Xinhua quoted the Chinese leader telling European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa on Thursday. The summit marks 50 years of the establishment of EU-China ties. Expectations are muted as the summit is being held under the shadow of growing trade tensions and hawkish EU rhetoric towards Beijing. Ms von der Leyen earlier this month accused China of using its manufacturing overcapacity to flood global markets and of 'enabling Russia's war economy'. The two sides differ significantly on the Ukraine war as China backs Russia's position on the conflict while the EU provides military, economic and diplomatic support to Kyiv. In addition to Mr Xi, Ms von der Leyen and Mr Costa are expected to meet premier Li Qiang, the Chinese foreign ministry said. Mr Xi urged the EU officials at the summit to "adhere to open cooperation and properly handle differences and frictions" after Ms von der Leyen warned that the bloc's ties with China were at an 'inflection point' and called for a rebalancing of trade ties with the world's second largest economy. 'Improving competitiveness can't rely on 'building walls and fortresses'. 'Decoupling and breaking chains' will only result in isolation,' Mr Xi added, according to Xinhua. He also urged the European leaders to "make correct strategic choices" in a veiled criticism of their recent hawkish stances on China. 'It is hoped the European side will keep the trade and investment market open and refrain from using restrictive economic and trade tools," he said, reiterating China's position on global trade in the wake of America's imposition of sweeping tariffs on almost all major countries. The EU delegation was expected to bring up the subject of electric vehicles and Beijing's export controls on rare earths. The controls temporarily stopped European automotive production lines when they were first announced in May in response to the US tariffs. The EU, meanwhile, has targeted Chinese exports of electric vehicles, among other goods, over the last year and its officials have repeatedly complained about Chinese industrial overcapacity. 'As our cooperation has deepened, so have imbalances,' Ms von der Leyen told the Chinese president during the meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. 'We have reached an inflection point,' she added, asking China to 'come forward with real solutions'. The EU's trade deficit with China surged to a historic high of £265bn last year. In spite of their differences, Beijing and Brussels agreed on a joint statement on climate, an area of mutual cooperation. They agreed to strengthen climate action, signalling renewed cooperation between two of the world's largest polluters at a time of rising global tensions and waning US leadership. They committed to submit new 2035 climate targets, scale up renewable energy, and deepen cooperation on methane, adaptation and green technology ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil. 'This joint statement sends an important signal that climate cooperation can still rise above geopolitical tensions,' said David Waskow, international climate director at the World Resources Institute. 'Stronger leadership from these two major emitters is critically needed to rekindle global momentum after the US stepped away from the Paris Agreement again.' Climate advocates said the pledge could help stabilise the multilateral process but warned that concrete ambition was still lacking. 'The EU–China statement sends a timely message,' Andreas Seiber of told The Independent. 'But the level of ambition remains far too low… aligning with the 1.5C limit requires urgent, credible action, especially with COP30 fast approaching.'
Telegraph
3 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Don't bank on Russian economic collapse to save Ukraine
Here are some of the data points. Growth last year was a rip-roaring 4.3pc, unemployment was just 2pc, the current account was in positive territory, debt to GDP was little more than 20pc and the ongoing fiscal deficit was a modest 1.8pc. In normal circumstances, metrics such as these would be considered evidence of a model economy of the type the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would dearly like everyone to follow. Certainly, it would not be keeping officials awake at night, unlike many others. But sadly, this is not some pin-up exemplar of switched-on Western economic management. Rather, it relates to Russia, now into its fourth year of war with Ukraine. And it points to an economy that, though showing manifest signs of stress, is easily capable of sustaining the conflict for many years into the future. From the start, Western thinking about Russia's capacity to support its ongoing 'special military operation' has been informed by naivety and wishful thinking. First, it was quite widely reported that Putin was terminally ill and that his invasion was therefore one last, desperate throw of the dice. Three and a half years later, and he still appears to be in rude health. Then it was sanctions that would bring Russia to its knees, with what was claimed to be the largest and most effective package of such measures ever attempted. They have not. In the event, Russia has found it relatively easy to circumvent the sanctions or find alternative trading partners to fill the gaps left by one-time Western suppliers and customers. As it is, Europe continues to buy quite considerable amounts of oil, diesel and gas from Russia, and the US has issued multiple import waivers, from fertilisers to, bizarrely, nuclear fuel rods.
