Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

The Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Social Protection of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Social Protection. A Minister of State does not hold cabinet rank.

List of parliamentary secretaries

Department of Social Welfare 1951–1977
Name	Term of office		Party		Government
Michael Kennedy	19 June 1951	2 June 1954		Fianna Fáil	6th[1]
	21 March 1957	11 November 1961			8th[2] • 9th[3]
Johnny Geoghegan	9 July 1969	14 March 1973		Fianna Fáil	13th[4]
Frank Cluskey	14 March 1973	5 July 1977		Labour	14th[5]

List of ministers of state

Department of Social Welfare 1980–1997
Name	Term of office		Party		Responsibilities	Government
Tom Nolan	25 March 1980	17 December 1980		Fianna Fáil		16th[6][7]
Thomas Hussey	17 December 1980	30 June 1981		Fianna Fáil
Mary Flaherty	30 June 1981	9 March 1982		Fine Gael	Poverty and the Family	17th[8]
Denis Gallagher	23 March 1982	27 October 1982		Fianna Fáil	Social Welfare Claims	18th[9][10]
Rory O'Hanlon	28 October 1982	14 December 1982		Fianna Fáil	Social Welfare Claims
Fergus O'Brien	16 December 1982	15 December 1983		Fine Gael	Social Welfare Information	19th[11][12]
John Donnellan	15 December 1983	10 March 1987		Fine Gael	Social Welfare Information
Séamus Pattison	15 December 1983	20 January 1987		Labour	Social Welfare Administration
Joan Burton	14 January 1993	15 December 1994		Labour	EC Poverty Plans and Tax and Social Welfare Codes[13]	23rd[14]
Bernard Durkan	20 December 1994	26 June 1997		Fine Gael		24th[15]
Department of Social and Family Affairs 2007–2010
Name	Term of office		Party		Responsibilities	Government
Máire Hoctor	9 July 2007	7 May 2008		Fianna Fáil	Older People	27th[16]
	13 May 2008	22 April 2009				28th[17][18]
Áine Brady	22 April 2009	9 March 2011		Fianna Fáil	Older People and Health Promotion
Department of Social Protection 2010–2017
Name	Term of office		Party		Responsibilities	Government
Kevin Humphreys	15 July 2014	6 May 2016		Labour	Employment, Community and Social Support[19][20][21]	29th[22]
Finian McGrath	6 May 2016	14 June 2017		Independent	Disability Issues[23]	30th[24]
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection 2017–2020
Name	Term of office		Party		Responsibilities	Government
Finian McGrath	20 June 2017	27 June 2020		Independent	Disability Issues[25]	31st[26]
Pat Breen	20 June 2017	27 June 2020		Fine Gael	Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection
Department of Social Protection 2020–present
Name	Term of office		Party		Responsibilities	Government
Damien English	19 July 2020	12 January 2023		Fine Gael	Employment Affairs and Retail Business	32nd • 33rd[27][28]
Neale Richmond	13 January 2023	10 April 2024		Fine Gael	Employment Affairs and Retail Business
Joe O'Brien	19 July 2020	23 January 2025		Green	Community Development and Charities	32nd • 33rd • 34th
Emer Higgins	10 April 2024	23 January 2025		Fine Gael	Business, Employment and Retail	34th