Disused titles of Departments of State (Ireland)

This is a list of disused titles of Departments of State in Ireland. The Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 established eleven Departments of State.[1] The titles of two of these were amended by an Act in 1928, and an Act in 1939 allowed further changes to the titles and responsibilities of Departments to be made by order of the government.[2] The titles and responsibilities of departments are often changed by a new government. In many instances, the legal successor of a department is not one which currently holds responsibilities for some or any of the same areas. Further departments were established by later amendments to the Ministers and Secretaries Act. The process of renaming of departments and transfer of responsibilities are detailed on the page for each department.

The titles of the Departments of Finance, Defence, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Rural and Community Development have not changed since their establishment.

Title	Period used	Legal successor	Current departments with functions
Agriculture	1928–1965, 1977–87	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Agriculture and Fisheries	1965–1977	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Agriculture and Food	1987–1993, 1997–1999, 2002–2007	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	2007–2011	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Department of Rural and Community Development
Agriculture, Food and Forestry	1993–1997	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Agriculture, Food and Rural Development	1993–1997	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Department of Rural and Community Development
Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht	1993–1997	Department of Children and Youth Affairs	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	2011–2016	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands	1997–2002	Department of Children and Youth Affairs	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs	2016–2017	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Department of Rural and Community Development
Arts, Sport and Tourism	2002–2010	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Communications	1984–1991	Lapsed in 1991	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Communications, Energy and Natural Resources	2007–2016	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Communications, Marine and Natural Resources	2002–2007	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs	2010–2011	Department of Children and Youth Affairs	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Department of Rural and Community Development
Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs	2002–2010	Department of Children and Youth Affairs	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Department of Justice and Equality Department of Rural and Community Development
Economic Planning and Development	1977–1980	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Department of Finance
Education	1924–1997	Department of Education and Skills	Department of Education and Skills
Education and Science	1997–2010	Department of Education and Skills	Department of Education and Skills
Energy	1980–1981, 1983–93	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Enterprise and Employment	1993–1997	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Enterprise, Trade and Employment	1997–2010	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Enterprise, Trade and Innovation	2010–2011	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Environment	1977–1997	Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
Environment and Local Government	1997–2003	Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
Environment, Heritage and Local Government	2003–2011	Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
Environment, Community and Local Government	2011–2016	Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government Department of Rural and Community Development
Equality and Law Reform	1997–1997	Lapsed in 1997	Department of Justice and Equality
External Affairs	1924–1971	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Foreign Affairs	1971–2011	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Fisheries	1924–1928, 1977–1978	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Fisheries and Forestry	1978–1986	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Gaeltacht	1956–1993	Department of Children and Youth Affairs	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Health and Children	1997–2011	Department of Health	Department of Health Department of Children and Youth Affairs
Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government	2016–2017	Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government	Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government Department of Rural and Community Development
Industry and Commerce	1924–1977, 1986–1993	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation
Industry, Commerce and Energy	1977–1980	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Industry, Commerce and Tourism	1980–1981	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Industry and Energy	1981–1983	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism	1983–1986	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation	2011–2017	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Labour	1966–1993	Lapsed in 1997	Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Lands and Agriculture	1924–1928	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Lands and Fisheries	1928–1937	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Lands	1937–1977	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Local Government	1947–1977	Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government	Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
Local Government and Public Health	1924–1947	Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government	Department of Health Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
Marine	1987–1997	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Marine and Natural Resources	1997–2002	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Posts and Telegraphs	1924–1984	Abolished in 1984	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
President of the Executive Council	1924–1937	Department of the Taoiseach	Department of the Taoiseach
Public Enterprise	19937–2002	Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Public Service	1973–1987	Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport	Department of Finance
Social and Family Affairs	2002–2010	Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection	Department of Children and Youth Affairs Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Social, Community and Family Affairs	1997–2002	Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection	Department of Children and Youth Affairs Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection Department of Rural and Community Development
Social Protection	2010–2017	Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection	Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Social Welfare	1947–1997	Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection	Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Supplies	1939–1945	Abolished in 1945	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation
Tourism and Trade	1993–1997	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Trade, Commerce and Tourism	1981–1983	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation	Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Transport	1980–1984	Abolished in 1984	Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Transport	2002–2011	Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport	Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Transport and Power	1959–1977	Abolished in 1984	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Tourism, Culture and Sport	2010–2011	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry	1986–1987	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Tourism and Transport	1977–1980	Abolished in 1984	Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Tourism and Transport	1987–1991	Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport	Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Tourism, Sport and Recreation	1997–2002	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Tourism, Transport and Communications	1991–1993	Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Transport, Energy and Communications	1993–1997	Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport	Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

References

• Alphabetical list of orders made under section 6 (1) of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1939 (change of name and transfer of functions between Departments of State)

1. "Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924, Section 1: Establishment of the Departments of State". Irish Statute Book. 21 April 1924. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
2. "Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1939: Section 6, Divers powers of the Government in relation to Departments of State". Irish Statute Book. 21 December 1939. Retrieved 16 November 2019.