THE GOVERNMENT IS coming under pressure from the opposition to quickly appoint a new Minister for Defence.
Following the resignation of Alan Shatter last week, Taoiseach Enda Kenny took over the portfolio on an interim basis.
The Department of Defence was previously under the remit of the Minister for Justice and Equality, but has now been split away.
“I am concerned about how long this ‘interim’ arrangement might last,” Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Defence Seán Ó Fearghaíl said.
We cannot allow a situation where no Cabinet Minister is appointed to the role before the summer recess.
Ó Fearghaíl noted that the Minister for Defence is next scheduled to answer questions on the portfolio in the Dáil in late June.
“At the very least, the next Minister for Defence should be settled in the role some weeks before then,” the TD said, adding that “anything less” would show a “fundamental lack of respect for the position of Defence Minister and for the Defence Forces as a whole.”
A spokesperson for the Department of An Taoiseach said no time frame had yet been set for the appointment.
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