The Minister of State at the Department of Defence ( ga, Aire Stáit ag an Roinn Cosanta) is a junior ministerial post in the

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. Although the position has often been held jointly with that of the post of

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach The Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach is a junior ministerial post in the Department of the Taoiseach of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Taoiseach. The position was first created ...

with responsibility as Government

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

, which entitles the office-holder to regularly attend meetings of cabinet, the position of Minister of State does not itself hold

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

rank. The title was first used on 1 January 1978, replacing the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence. The Minister of State at the Department of Defence is a member of the Council of Defence. The current Minister of State is Peter Burke, TD, who was appointed in December 2022. Burke is also

Minister of State for European Affairs The Minister of State for European Affairs is a Minister of State (Ireland), junior ministerial post at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Department of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Ireland wi ...

List of Parliamentary Secretaries to the Minister for Defence 1924–1978

List of Ministers of State at the Department of Defence 1978–present

References

{{Ministers of State of Ireland Defence Department of Defence (Ireland)