Unlike senior government ministers, which are appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach and the prior approval of Dáil Éireann, Ministers of State are appointed directly by the government, on the nomination of the Taoiseach.
Ministers of State continue in office after the dissolution of the Dáil until the appointment of a new Taoiseach.
[7][8][9] On 21 April 2009, Brian Cowen asked all 20 Ministers of State to resign, and he re-appointed a reduced number of 15 ministers the following day, when the Dáil resumed after the Easter recess.
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn was the first woman to be appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary, when she was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce by Jack Lynch in 1977 (becoming Minister of State at the Department of Industry, Commerce and Energy in 1978).
The Government Chief Whip is a Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and attends cabinet.