Politics

Tensions between FG and FF over next finance minister

With the Eurogroup presidency in the offing, Fine Gael may be reluctant to let Paschal Donohoe step down as agreed when the Taoiseach and Tánaiste swap offices

Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Finance: this newspaper understands that there was a verbal agreement between the leaders that the finance and public expenditure ministries would be swapped, along with the role of Taoiseach and Tánaiste. Picture: Fergal Phillips

Tensions are building within the coalition over who will serve as Minister for Finance after the Taoiseach position rotates later this year, the Business Post understands.

Under the programme for government, there is a commitment to swap the offices of Taoiseach and Tánaiste halfway through the government’s term, meaning Micheál Martin is due to become Tánaiste on December 15, while Leo Varadkar will become Taoiseach.

The programme for government explicitly states that the “roles of ...