Junior Minister (Northern Ireland)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
 |
|---|
.jpg)
The term junior Minister (Irish: aire sóisearach),[1] in Northern Ireland, is the name given to two positions in the Executive Office, a department in the Northern Ireland Executive answerable to the First Minister and deputy First Minister.
The positions have been filled by Aisling Reilly since 3 February 2024 and Joanne Bunting since 15 September 2025.[2]
Under the Northern Ireland Act 1998,[3] the First Minister and deputy First Minister acting jointly may determine that a number of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly shall be appointed as junior ministers.
The salary of each junior minister in 2007–2008 (when devolution was restored) was £60,067.42,[4] which decreased to the current level of £55,000.00 in 2016.[5][6][7]
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) called for the immediate abolition of the junior minister positions in its 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election manifesto.[8]
Nominated by the First Minister
| Minister | Image | Party | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dermot Nesbitt |  | UUP | 15 December 1999 | 11 February 2000 | |
| Office suspended | |||||
| Dermot Nesbitt | | UUP | 30 May 2000 | 20 February 2002[9] | |
| James Leslie | | UUP | 20 February 2002 | 14 October 2002 | |
| Office suspended | |||||
| Ian Paisley, Jr. |  | DUP | 8 May 2007 | 26 February 2008 | |
| Jeffrey Donaldson | DUP | 26 February 2008 | 1 July 2009 | ||
| Robin Newton | | DUP | 1 July 2009 | 16 May 2011 | |
| Jonathan Bell |  | DUP | 16 May 2011 | 11 May 2015 | |
| Michelle McIlveen |  | DUP | 11 May 2015 | 28 October 2015 | |
| Emma Pengelly |  | DUP | 28 October 2015 | 25 May 2016 | |
| Alastair Ross |  | DUP | 25 May 2016 | 9 January 2017 | |
| Office suspended | |||||
| Gordon Lyons |  | DUP | 11 January 2020 | 2 February 2021 | |
| Gary Middleton |  | DUP | 2 February 2021 (Acting) | 8 March 2021 | |
| Gordon Lyons | | DUP | 8 March 2021 | 17 June 2021 | |
| Gary Middleton | | DUP | 17 June 2021 | 5 May 2022 | |
| Office suspended | |||||
| Aisling Reilly | | Sinn Féin | 3 February 2024 | Incumbent | |
Nominated by the Deputy First Minister
| Minister | Image | Party | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denis Haughey | | SDLP | 2 December 1999 | 11 February 2000 | |
| Office suspended | |||||
| Denis Haughey | | SDLP | 30 May 2000 | 14 October 2002[9] | |
| Office suspended | |||||
| Gerry Kelly |  | Sinn Féin | 8 May 2007 | 16 May 2011 | |
| Martina Anderson |  | Sinn Féin | 16 May 2011 | 12 June 2012 | |
| Jennifer McCann |  | Sinn Féin | 12 June 2012 | 25 May 2016 | |
| Megan Fearon |  | Sinn Féin | 25 May 2016 | 9 January 2017 | |
| Office suspended | |||||
| Declan Kearney |  | Sinn Féin | 11 January 2020 | 5 May 2022 | |
| Office suspended | |||||
| Pam Cameron |  | DUP | 3 February 2024 | 15 September 2025 | |
| Joanne Bunting | | DUP | 15 September 2025 | Incumbent | |
Assembly Private Secretary
Following the 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election, First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness announced the creation of the new post of Assembly Private Secretary, available to all ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive.
The position is similar to that of a parliamentary private secretary in the House of Commons, providing political support to the Minister within the department. It is non-salaried and held by a backbencher from the same party as the Minister. While not ministerial, and therefore below the rank of junior Minister, it provides experience to members considered as potential future ministers. It is not compulsory to appoint an Assembly Private Secretary; indeed the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland initially did not make appointments.
As of May 2011, OFMDFM officials were drawing up a code of conduct and enabling processes to facilitate the creation of the posts.[10] None had been published by October 2011, meaning that the posts had not been created by the Northern Ireland Assembly up to that point. However, they were declared as public offices in the register of members' interests on 29 June 2011 and 7 October 2011.[11][12]