Sinn Féin Front Bench

McDonald Front Bench
Opposition front bench of Ireland
McDonald with members of her front bench during the nomination of the Taoiseach in April 2024
Date formed10 February 2018
People and organisations
Leader of the OppositionMary Lou McDonald
Member party
  •   Sinn Féin
Status in legislature
39 / 174 (22%)
(2024)
37 / 160 (23%)
(2020)
23 / 158 (15%)
(2018)
History
Legislature terms34th Dáil
33rd Dáil
32nd Dáil
PredecessorSecond Martin Front Bench

Mary Lou McDonald has served as the Leader of the Opposition since 27 June 2020, following the formation of the government of the 33rd Dáil after the 2020 general election. McDonald has continued in this role following the formation of the government of the 34th Dáil.

Sinn Féin Front Bench

Following Micheál Martin's appointment as Taoiseach on 23 January 2025, Mary Lou McDonald retained her position as the second President of Sinn Féin and first woman to hold the de facto role of Leader of the Opposition, a position she has held since the 2020 general election.[1]

On 28 January 2025, Mary Lou McDonald announced the new Sinn Féin front bench for the 34th Dáil.[2]

Front Bench spokespersons

See also: Government of the 34th Dáil
Portfolio Name Elected office
Leader of the Opposition
President of Sinn Féin 		Mary Lou McDonald TD for Dublin Central
Deputy Leader of Sinn Féin in the Dáil
Spokesperson on Finance 		Pearse Doherty TD for Donegal
Spokesperson on Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation Mairéad Farrell TD for Galway West
Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Trade and Defence Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD for Cork South-Central
Spokesperson on Environment and Climate Action Pa Daly TD for Kerry
Spokesperson on Education and Youth Darren O'Rourke TD for Meath East
Spokesperson on Children, Disability and Equality Claire Kerrane TD for Roscommon-Galway
Spokesperson on Enterprise and Tourism Rose Conway-Walsh TD for Mayo
Spokesperson on Social Protection and Rural and Community Development Louise O'Reilly TD for Dublin Fingal West
Spokesperson on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport Joanna Byrne TD for Louth
Spokesperson on Health David Cullinane TD for Waterford
Spokesperson on Housing, Local Government and Heritage Eoin Ó Broin TD for Dublin Mid–West
Spokesperson on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Matt Carthy TD for Cavan-Monaghan
Spokesperson on Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Kenny TD for Sligo-Leitrim
Spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Donna McGettigan TD for Clare
Spokesperson on Gaeilge and the Gaeltacht Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD for Dublin South–Central

Chief Whip

Portfolio Name Elected office
Chief Whip and spokesperson for Fisheries and the Marine Pádraig Mac Lochlainn
(In attendance at front bench meetings) 		TD for Donegal
Deputy Whip Denise Mitchell TD for Dublin Bay North

Junior spokespersons

See also: Government of the 34th Dáil § Ministers of state

On 18 February 2025, Mary Lou McDonald announced a new team of junior spokespeople that broadly correspond with the portfolios of Ministers of State.[3]

Portfolio Name Elected office
Junior spokesperson for Mental Health Sorca Clarke TD for Longford-Westmeath
Junior spokesperson for Disability Ruairí Ó Murchú TD for Louth
Junior spokesperson for Older people and Carers Natasha Newsome Drennan TD for Carlow-Kilkenny
Junior spokesperson for National Drug and Alcohol Strategy, Addiction, Recovery and Wellbeing Ann Graves TD for Dublin Fingal East
Junior spokesperson for Rural Affairs, Community Development and the Gaeltacht Conor D. McGuinness TD for Waterford
Junior spokesperson for Tourism and Diaspora Cathy Bennett TD for Cavan-Monaghan
Junior spokesperson for Transport
Junior spokesperson for Energy 		Louis O'Hara TD for Galway East
Junior spokesperson for Special Education Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh TD for Kildare South
Junior spokesperson for Social Enterprise, Circular Economy, Nighttime Economy and Small Businesses Paul Donnelly TD for Dublin West
Junior spokesperson for Community Arts
Junior spokesperson for Infrastructure
Junior spokesperson for Climate Action and Biodiversity 		Réada Cronin TD for Kildare North
Junior spokesperson for Urban Regeneration and Renewal, Planning, Public Realm and Local Government Thomas Gould TD for Cork North-Central
Junior spokesperson for European Affairs
Junior spokesperson for Defence and Neutrality 		Seán Crowe TD for Dublin South-West
Junior spokesperson for Community Safety
Junior spokesperson for Youth
Spokesperson for Dublin 		Mark Ward TD for Dublin Mid-West
Junior spokesperson for Worker's Rights Johnny Guirke TD for Meath West
Junior spokesperson for Equality, Domestic and Gender Based Violence Máire Devine TD for Dublin South-Central

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sinn Féin vows to be 'most effective Opposition ever'". RTÉ News. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Mary Lou McDonald reveals new Sinn Féin front bench". Irish Independent. 28 January 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Mary Lou McDonald announces new team of Sinn Féin junior spokespersons". Sinn Féin. 18 February 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.