The minister of state at the Department of Defence () is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Defence of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the minister for defence. Although the position has often been held jointly with that of the post of Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach with responsibility as Government Chief Whip, which entitles the office-holder to regularly attend meetings of cabinet, the position of minister of state does not itself hold cabinet rank. The title was first used on 1 January 1978, replacing the position of parliamentary secretary to the minister of defence. The minister of state at the Department of Defence is a member of the Council of Defence.
The current minister of state is Thomas Byrne, TD, who was appointed in January 2025. Byrne is also Minister of State for European Affairs.
List of parliamentary secretaries, 1924–1978 NameTerm of officePartyGovernmentGeorge Nicolls15 January 192523 May 1927 2nd ECEamonn Duggan24 June 19279 March 1932 3rd EC4th EC5th ECGerald Boland9 March 19327 February 1933 6th ECSeán O'Grady8 February 19333 June 1936 7th ECOscar Traynor3 June 193610 November 1936 7th ECSeán O'Grady11 November 19368 September 1939 7th EC1st2ndSeán Moylan8 September 19392 July 1943 2ndEamon Kissane2 July 194318 February 1948 3rd4thBrendan Corish18 February 19487 May 1951 5thDonnchadh Ó Briain13 June 195124 April 1954 6thDenis J. O'Sullivan2 June 195412 February 1957 7thDonnchadh Ó Briain20 March 195711 October 1961 8th9thJoseph Brennan11 October 196118 March 1965 10thMichael Carty21 April 196522 May 1969 11th12thDesmond O'Malley2 July 19697 May 1970 13thDavid Andrews8 May 19705 February 1973 13thJohn M. Kelly14 March 197319 May 1977 14thPatrick Lalor5 July 19771 January 1978 15th
List of ministers of state, 1978–present NameTerm of officePartyGovernmentPatrick Lalor1 January 19781 July 1979 15thMichael Woods1 July 197911 December 1979 15thSeán Moore13 December 197930 June 1981 16thGerry L'Estrange30 June 198111 November 1981 17thFergus O'Brien11 November 19819 March 1982 17thBertie Ahern9 March 198214 December 1982 18thSeán Barrett14 December 198213 February 1986 19thFergus O'Brien13 February 198610 March 1987 19thVincent Brady10 March 198714 November 1991 20th21stDermot Ahern15 November 199111 February 1992 21stNoel Dempsey11 February 199215 December 1994 22nd23rdSeán Barrett15 December 199423 May 1995 24thJim Higgins24 May 199526 June 1997 24thSéamus Brennan26 June 19976 June 2002 25thMary Hanafin6 June 200229 September 2004 26thTom Kitt29 September 20047 May 2008 26th27thPat Carey7 May 200823 March 2010 28thJohn Curran23 March 20109 March 2011 28thPaul Kehoe9 March 201127 June 2020 29th30th31stJack Chambers17 November 202017 December 2022 32ndPeter Burke21 December 20229 April 2024 33rdJennifer Carroll MacNeill9 April 202423 January 2025 34thThomas Byrne29 January 2025Incumbent 35th
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