Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor has called for Jack Chambers to be promoted to a senior cabinet position to “send a signal to young people”.
Mr Chambers is currently the Government Chief Whip, as well as Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht.
At 32, the Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin West is currently the youngest Minister of State.
The party’s youngest TD has now said that Mr Chambers should be promoted to a senior ministry.
While Mr O’Connor, 25, did not specify what ministry he should be given, he said that the Chief Whip should be “given a chance”.
“I would be very hopeful that Jack Chambers would be promoted to Cabinet,” the Cork East TD told the Irish Mirror.
“I think it is very, very important that Fianna Fáil sends a signal that we’re interested in young people.
“Jack is our youngest [junior] minister and I think it would be nice to see him given an opportunity to be a Cabinet Minister.
“It is not for me to comment [on what portfolio he might get], but that is my view.
“I think it is important that he be given a chance.”
The Cabinet reshuffle will take place on December 17 when the Taoiseach’s office rotates from Micheál Martin to Leo Varadkar.
The change will also see ministries swap. However, it is expected that there will be no major changes in the senior ranks, with some movement in the junior ministerial positions.
There have been some suggestions in Leinster House that Mr Chambers could succeed Stephen Donnelly as Health Minister.
However, The Irish Mirror understands that there is a strong desire in some parts of the coalition to keep Minister Donnelly where he is to continue his work on women’s healthcare and other initiatives.
There are also questions about what ministry Mr Martin will take when he becomes Tánaiste. It has been suggested that he could take Foreign Affairs, a role currently occupied by Fine Gael’s Simon Coveney.
However, some Government sources have told The Mirror that a move to Foreign Affairs could signal Mr Martin’s intent to move to European politics following the coalition’s term. This, some have suggested, would cause unrest in the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party and further calls for a change in leadership.
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