Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Irish: An tAire Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Incumbent James Browne since 23 January 2025
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Type	Housing minister Culture minister
Status	Cabinet minister
Member of	Government of Ireland Council of the European Union Dáil Éireann
Reports to	Taoiseach
Seat	Dublin, Ireland
Nominator	Taoiseach
Appointer	President of Ireland (on the advice of the Taoiseach)
Inaugural holder	W. T. Cosgrave as Minister for Local Government
Formation	2 April 1919
Salary	€210,750 (2025) (including €115,953 TD salary)[1]
Website	Official website

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage since January 2025^[update] is James Browne, TD.

He is assisted by three Ministers of State:

• John Cummins, TD – Minister of State for local government and planning
• Christopher O'Sullivan, TD – Minister of State for nature, heritage and biodiversity
• Kieran O'Donnell, TD – Minister of State for housing

Overview

The minister is responsible for, among other matters:

• housing;
• local authorities and related services;
• the supervision of elections, including general elections and presidential elections.

List of office-holders

  Denotes acting Minister

Minister for Local Government 1919–1924
Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)[a]
W. T. Cosgrave	2 April 1919	9 September 1922		Sinn Féin	2nd DM • 3rd DM • 4th DM • 1st PG
Ernest Blythe	30 August 1922	15 October 1923		Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)	2nd PG • 5th DM • 1st EC • 2nd EC
Séamus Burke	15 October 1923	2 June 1924		Cumann na nGaedheal	2nd EC
Minister for Local Government and Public Health 1924–1947
Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
Séamus Burke	2 June 1924	23 June 1927		Cumann na nGaedheal	2nd EC
Richard Mulcahy	23 June 1927	9 March 1932		Cumann na nGaedheal	3rd EC • 4th EC • 5th EC
Seán T. O'Kelly	9 March 1932	8 September 1939		Fianna Fáil	6th EC • 7th EC • 8th EC • 1st • 2nd
P. J. Ruttledge	8 September 1939	14 August 1941		Fianna Fáil	2nd
Éamon de Valera (acting)	15 August 1941	18 August 1941		Fianna Fáil	2nd
Seán MacEntee	18 August 1941	22 January 1947		Fianna Fáil	2nd • 3rd • 4th
Minister for Local Government 1947–1977
Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
Seán MacEntee	22 January 1947	18 February 1948		Fianna Fáil	4th
Timothy J. Murphy	18 February 1948	29 April 1949		Labour	5th
William Norton (acting)	3 May 1949	11 May 1949		Labour	5th
Michael Keyes	11 May 1949	13 June 1951		Labour	5th
Paddy Smith (1st time)	13 June 1951	2 June 1954		Fianna Fáil	6th
Patrick O'Donnell	2 June 1954	20 March 1957		Fine Gael	7th
Paddy Smith (2nd time)	20 March 1957	27 November 1957		Fianna Fáil	8th
Neil Blaney	27 November 1957	10 November 1966		Fianna Fáil	8th • 9th • 10th • 11th
Kevin Boland	10 November 1966	7 May 1970		Fianna Fáil	12th • 13th
Bobby Molloy	9 May 1970	14 March 1973		Fianna Fáil	13th
James Tully	14 March 1973	5 July 1977		Labour	14th
Minister for the Environment 1977–1997
Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
Sylvester Barrett	5 July 1977	15 October 1980		Fianna Fáil	15th • 16th
Ray Burke (1st time)	15 October 1980	30 June 1981		Fianna Fáil	16th
Peter Barry	30 June 1981	9 March 1982		Fine Gael	17th
Ray Burke (2nd time)	9 March 1982	14 December 1982		Fianna Fáil	18th
Dick Spring	14 December 1982	13 December 1983		Labour	19th
Liam Kavanagh	13 December 1983	14 February 1986		Labour	19th
John Boland	14 February 1986	10 March 1987		Fine Gael	19th
Pádraig Flynn	10 March 1987	8 November 1991		Fianna Fáil	20th • 21st
John Wilson (acting)	8 November 1991	14 November 1991		Fianna Fáil	21st
Rory O'Hanlon	14 November 1991	14 February 1992		Fianna Fáil	21st
Michael Smith	14 February 1992	14 December 1994		Fianna Fáil	22nd • 23rd
Brendan Howlin	14 December 1994	26 June 1997		Labour	24th
Minister for Environment and Local Government 1997–2002
Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
Noel Dempsey	26 June 1997	6 June 2002		Fianna Fáil	25th
Martin Cullen	6 June 2002	10 June 2003		Fianna Fáil	26th
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government 2002–2011
Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
Martin Cullen	10 June 2003	29 September 2004		Fianna Fáil	26th
Dick Roche	29 September 2004	14 June 2007		Fianna Fáil	26th
John Gormley	14 June 2007	23 January 2011		Green	27th • 28th
Éamon Ó Cuív	23 January 2011	9 March 2011		Fianna Fáil	28th
Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government 2011–2016
Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
Phil Hogan	9 March 2011	11 July 2014		Fine Gael	29th
Alan Kelly	11 July 2014	6 May 2016		Labour	29th
Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government 2016–2017
Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
Simon Coveney	6 May 2016	14 June 2017		Fine Gael	30th
Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government 2017–2020
Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
Eoghan Murphy	14 June 2017	27 June 2020		Fine Gael	31st
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage 2020–present
Name	Term of office		Party		Government(s)
Darragh O'Brien	27 June 2020	23 January 2025		Fianna Fáil	32nd • 33rd • 34th
James Browne	23 January 2025	Incumbent		Fianna Fáil	35th

Notes

1. Before 1937: DM – Dáil Ministry; PG – Provisional Government; EC – Executive Council.