Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Incumbent Heather Humphreys since 11 July 2014
Appointer	President of Ireland on the nomination of the Taoiseach
Inaugural holder	Martin O'Donoghue as Minister for Economic Planning and Development
Formation	8 July 1977
Website	www.ahg.gov.ie

The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Template:Lang-ga) is the senior minister at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in the Government of Ireland.

The current minister is Heather Humphreys, TD. She is assisted by:

• Joe McHugh, TD – Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs and Natural Resources
• Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, TD – Minister of State for New Communities, Culture and Equality

Overview

The Minister for Economic Planning and Development was created by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1977. The title was renamed Minister for Energy by order in 1980 and again in 1993 the title changed to Minister for Tourism and Trade. Several more title changes occurred, the current title was created on 9 March 2011 with a reshuffle of the Government of the 31st Dáil.

Culture

Creating an environment enabling the National Cultural Institutions to flourish through the provision of financial resources and an appropriate policy framework. The National Cultural Institutions include: National Archives of Ireland, National Concert Hall, National Library of Ireland, National Museum of Ireland, Chester Beatty Library, Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Ireland.

Arts

Formulation, development and evaluation of policy and structures to promote and foster the practice and appreciation of the creative and interpretative arts and to encourage the development of the Irish film industry; enabling the national cultural institutions, as integral elements of the national culture, to preserve, protect and present for the benefit of present and future generations our moveable heritage and cultural assets.

List of office-holders

Minister for Economic Planning and Development 1977–1980
No.	Name	Term of office		Party
1.	Martin O'Donoghue	8 July 1977	11 December 1979	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
2.	Michael O'Kennedy	12 December 1979	21 January 1980	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
Minister for Energy 1980–1981
No.	Name	Term of office		Party
	Michael O'Kennedy	21 January 1980	22 January 1980	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
3.	George Colley	22 January 1980	30 June 1981	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
4.	Michael O'Leary	30 June 1981	21 August 1981	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (Ireland)/meta/color" |	Labour Party
Minister for Industry and Energy 1981–1983
No.	Name	Term of office		Party
	Michael O'Leary	21 August 1981	9 March 1982	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (Ireland)/meta/color" |	Labour Party
5.	Albert Reynolds (1st time)	9 March 1982	14 December 1982	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
6.	John Bruton	14 December 1982	13 December 1983	style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" |	Fine Gael
7.	Dick Spring	13 December 1983	17 December 1983	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (Ireland)/meta/color" |	Labour Party
Minister for Energy 1983–1993
No.	Name	Term of office		Party
	Dick Spring	17 December 1983	20 January 1987	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (Ireland)/meta/color" |	Labour Party
8.	Michael Noonan	20 January 1987	10 March 1987	style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" |	Fine Gael
9.	Ray Burke	10 March 1987	24 November 1988	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
10.	Michael Smith	24 November 1988	12 July 1989	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
11.	Bobby Molloy	12 July 1989	4 November 1992	style="background-color: Template:Progressive Democrats/meta/color" |	Progressive Democrats
	Albert Reynolds (2nd time)	4 November 1992	12 January 1993	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
12.	Brian Cowen	12 January 1993	22 January 1993	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
Minister for Tourism and Trade 1993–1997
No.	Name	Term of office		Party
13.	Charlie McCreevy	22 January 1993	15 December 1994	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
14.	Enda Kenny	15 December 1994	26 June 1997	style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" |	Fine Gael
15.	Jim McDaid	26 June 1997	12 July 1997	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation 1997–2002
No.	Name	Term of office		Party
	Jim McDaid	12 July 1997	6 June 2002	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism 2002–2010
No.	Name	Term of office		Party
16.	John O'Donoghue	6 June 2002	14 June 2007	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
17.	Séamus Brennan	14 June 2007	6 May 2008	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
18.	Martin Cullen	7 May 2008	23 March 2010	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport 2010–2011
No.	Name	Term of office		Party
19.	Mary Hanafin	23 March 2010	9 March 2011	style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" |	Fianna Fáil
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 2011–present
No.	Name	Term of office		Party
20.	Jimmy Deenihan	9 March 2011	11 July 2014	style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" |	Fine Gael
21.	Heather Humphreys	11 July 2014	Incumbent	style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" |	Fine Gael

See also

• Irish cabinets since 1919
• Permanent North American Gaeltacht

External links

• Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht