Donegal Fianna Fáil TD Charlie McConalogue and Sligo Leitrim Fine Gael Frank Feighan have been given junior ministerial roles in the new government.
Deputy Feighan has been appointed Minster of State at the Department of Health and will have special responsibility for the National Drugs Policy and Community Wellbeing.
Charlie McConalogue will be Minister of State at the Department of Justice.
Former Education Minister Joe McHugh declined a junior role.
The new coalition government had come in for strong criticism after Connacht and the north west was left without a senior cabinet ministerial appointment.
The appointments for Deputies Feighan and McConalogue, along with Galway TD Anne Rabbitte, appear to be an attempt by Micheál Martin’s government to address that geographical imbalance.
17 junior ministers were appointed on Wednesday evening.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had seven posts each to hand out while the Greens had three.
List of new Junior Ministers:
Fianna Fáil
Charlie McConalogue (Donegal)
Anne Rabbitte
Niall Collins
Mary Butler
Robert Troy
Thomas Byrne
Jack Chambers
(Chief Whip Dara Colleary to be Minister of State for Sport).
Fine Gael
Frank Feighan (Sligo Leitrim)
Josepha Madigan
C Brophy
Patrick O’Donovan
Damien English
Martin Heydon
Peter Burke.
Greens
Malcom Noonan
Joe O’Brien
Ossian Smyth
