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(Redirected from Official Opposition (Ireland))

The 'Opposition Front Bench' in the Republic of Ireland is a group of senior parliamentary opposition Teachtaí Dála who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's. These members are assigned a particular portfolio and mark each individual member of the government. Members of the Opposition are often but not always appointed to a Cabinet post if and when their party gets into government.
Fine Gael is the largest opposition party in the Dáil and therefore that party's leader takes the title Leader of the Opposition, a largely nominal role. The other parties that occupy the opposition benches include the Labour Party, Sinn Féin, the Green Party and the Socialist Party.
The "Official Opposition" is viewed as the party tasked with keeping the government in check. It is also generally viewed as the alternative government. The Official Opposition maintains a Front bench of Teachtaí Dála (TDs) that often have the same portfolios as actual ministers. They are known as opposition "spokespersons".
The title of "the Opposition" is held by the largest party in Dáil Éireann which is not in government, and sometimes the Opposition may even be the largest party in the Dáil. The latter situation almost always occurs when Fianna Fáil are in opposition. This is due to the existence of the multi-party system where Fine Gael usually forms a coalition with the Labour Party.

Official Opposition		Years
	Labour Party	1922–1927
	Fianna Fáil	1927–1932
	Cumann na nGaedhael	1932–1933
	Fine Gael	1933–1948
	Fianna Fáil	1948–1951
	Fine Gael	1951–1954
	Fianna Fáil	1954–1957
	Fine Gael	1957–1973
	Fianna Fáil	1973–1977
	Fine Gael	1977–1981
	Fianna Fáil	1981–1982
	Fine Gael	1982
	Fianna Fáil	1982–1987
	Fine Gael	1987–1994
	Fianna Fáil	1994–1997
	Fine Gael	1997–

Contents

Opposition Front Bench

Front Bench Spokespersons

Deputy Spokespersons

Opposition Front Bench

Front Bench Spokespersons

Portfolio	Opposition Spokesperson
Leader of the Opposition Spokesperson on Northern Ireland	Enda Kenny	2002–
Deputy-Leader of the Opposition Spokesperson on Finance	Richard Bruton	2002–
Spokesperson on Justice & Law Reform	Jim O'Keeffe	2004–
Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs	Bernard Allen	2004–
Spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade & Employment	Phil Hogan	2002–
Spokesperson on Health & Children	Liam Twomey	2004–
Spokesperson on Marine	John Perry	2004–
Spokesperson on the Environment, Heritage & Local Government	Fergus O'Dowd	2004–
Spokesperson on Arts, Sport & Tourism	Jimmy Deenihan	2002–
Spokesperson on Regional Development & Emigrant Affairs	Paul Connaughton	2002–
Spokesperson on Social, Family Affairs & Equality	David Stanton	2004–
Spokesperson on Transport	Olivia Mitchell	2004–
Spokesperson on Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs	Dinny McGinley	2004–
Spokesperson on Agriculture & Food	Denis Naughten	2004–
Spokesperson on Education & Science	Olwyn Enright	2002–
Spokesperson on Defence	Billy Timmins	2004–
Spokesperson on Communications & Natural Resources	Bernard Durkan	2004–
Chief Whip	Paul Kehoe	2004–
Spokesperson without portfolio	Michael Noonan	2004–
Spokesperson on Dublin	Senator Brian Hayes	2002–

Deputy Spokespersons

Portfolio	Deputy Spokesperson
Assistant Chief Whip Spokesperson on Health with special responsibility for Mental Health & Children	Dan Neville	2002–
Spokesperson on Finance	Paul McGrath	2002–
Spokesperson on Justice & Community Affairs with special responsibility for Drugs, Alcohol & Crime Prevention	Damien English	2004–
Spokesperson on Justice	Gerard Murphy	2004–
Spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade & Employment with special responsibility for EU Internal Market Development & Small & Medium Enterprises	Pat Breen	2004–
Spokesperson on the Environment with special responsibility for Heritage & Rural Affairs	Tom Hayes	2004–
Spokesperson on the Environment & Local Government with special responsibility for Urban Renewal & Housing Policy	Pádraic McCormack	2004–
Spokesperson on Agriculture	Seymour Crawford	2004–
Spokesperson on Transport with special responsibility for Road Safety	Shane McEntee	2006–