As I announced in this House on 6 May 2016, Deputy Paul Kehoe has been appointed as a Minister of State attending Government and Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Defence with special responsibility for the Department of Defence.
Work is underway in relation to the preparation of a Delegation of Ministerial Functions Order under the Minister and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977 to delegate ministerial functions to Minister of State Kehoe. This Order will be finalised as soon as possible in conjunction with the office of the Attorney General.
Every power or duty delegated to Minister Kehoe continues to be vested in me as Minister for Defence concurrently with the Minister of State.