Seán Canney Steps into the Spotlight in Government

As the fledgling Iran and Israel ceasefire unexpectedly took root last Tuesday morning, a less dramatic act of consolidation was playing out in front of the cameras in Government Buildings.

The coalition's leaders hurriedly arranged themselves on the podium in the press centre on Merrion Street to tell the world about a plan to breathe new life into Dublin's O'Connell Street.

The event was late getting under way as the Taoiseach explained that the ferociously busy Cabinet meeting had worked through no less than 50 items.

Was Micheál Martin suggesting that the 'do-nothing Dáil' label which smudged the planned glossy opening act of this Government was now consigned to history?

That was the clear inference and amid the spirit of fast-moving newness there emerged from the wings, the politician who effectively leads the Independent ministers in Government.

Seán Canney stood with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste in a manner akin to Eamon Ryan's ever-present role in the last administration.

The Galway-East TD's prominent public positioning last week was the result of mounting frustration among some Independent ministers and TDs.

They felt that the presentation of the Government, particularly by the media, as primarily a two-party entity, was unfair and inaccurate.

'There were conversations among a few ministers, and it was decided that we need people to know that there are three and maybe four parts to this Government,' said one minister.

Others point to what they perceive as an even deeper disregard for some Independent TDs who signed up to the Programme for Government.

'They cut us out of the consultative process when making decisions and that led to Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole voting against them, but it is now sorted, they know we're serious,' said one Independent TD.

The group has also had its own Deputy Government Press Secretary, Tom Blade, appointed this week.

All the while there is an absolute rule across Government that these ministers and TDs must receive information simultaneously with those in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

If everyone understands their roles better now, there is nonetheless a complicated structure to the Independent's place in the Government.

What is beyond dispute is that Mr Canney is the de facto leader of the Independent ministers.

Privately he is acutely aware that it is a job which requires the most well-honed of diplomatic skills, given the differing aims of his colleagues and the absence of a political party machine.

'He is a great manager of people and is very structured in his approach, I think he could qualify for a UN role at this stage' is how one Cabinet minister sums up the man who first entered politics in the 2004 local elections.

Previously, in the 2016-2020 minority government, he exuded restraint when the rotation of the Office of Public Works ministry with Kevin 'Boxer' Moran stalled.

Back then the man reared on a farm in Belclare, Tuam, Co Galway spoke about the value he placed on deals reached through a handshake, just like farmers did at fair days.

It is a principle that served him well, and he was later appointed to another junior ministry by the then-taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

These days Mr Canney attends the agenda-setting pre-Cabinet meeting with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste every Monday night.

The 65-year-old, first elected to the Dáil in 2016, is described as approaching those meetings in a calm and good-humoured manner.

He is said to 'know what he wants' and is 'effective'.

Some even play on his surname and believe he is by nature 'quite canny'.

The former quantity-surveyor, who also lectured in that subject for almost a decade at GMIT, is said to have surprised some in Government with his focus on national issues.

He has also impressed those in the Department of Transport where he has set a lofty ambition to reduce driving test waiting times to ten weeks by September.

'He really grabbed that one by the scruff of the neck and he is receiving fortnightly reports to ensure that the RSA makes it happen,' is the view of someone familiar with Mr Canney's work in the department.

Notably, he is understood to have opposed the idea of appointing NAMA boss Brendan McDonagh as the housing czar, during what was a bruising Government controversy earlier this year.

'He is very much big picture,' said one senior figure in Government Buildings.

On Tuesdays, Mr Canney along with Noel Grealish attend Cabinet meetings and also that day, Mr Canney chairs a meeting of the five Independent ministers.

Perhaps illustrating his elevated status, he has what no other junior minister possesses, a big office in the main corridor of Government Buildings.

'He tells us what's coming up and how things went at the Monday night meeting. It can be a bit challenging for the Independent ministers in government sometimes, but we like challenges,' one minister said.

Then there is the weekly meeting of the Independent ministers and TDs on Wednesday evenings, a gathering that is chaired by Michael Lowry.

Some ministers say they do not always attend and prefer to do 'their own thing'.

Most do participate however, even if there are mixed views on whether or not Mr Lowry is becoming a more peripheral figure.

'The 'Lowry Lackeys' jibe hurt a lot, and it is better just to focus on your own work,' one of those who worked closely with Mr Lowry in the Government formation talks said.

Another Independent TD was more philosophical, saying 'he still has access to Government and still gets things done. You can't dismiss a man with that experience'.

Indeed, it was Mr Lowry who chaired a meeting of Independent TDs and ministers when they met with Minister for Housing James Browne on Wednesday afternoon last.

There, the minister explained in broad terms what will be unveiled in the coming weeks to make the building of homes more viable.

He also rejected a push from Independent TDs to publish all the new measures in one big plan and insisted that it is more beneficial to keep making changes on an almost weekly basis.

There are ongoing battles between Independents and the Department of Public Expenditure over the upcoming review of the National Development Plan (NDP).

'It is proving very difficult, but senior ministers from all parties are experiencing the same thing,' one Independent minister said.

Officially though, there is a vow of silence around these discussions.

Again, this week the Taoiseach insisted, in a reply to Labour's Alan Kelly, that 'no agreements or lists' have been made with Independent TDs to include projects in their constituencies in the updated NDP.

However, no one can deny that Independents now want a more high-profile role in Government, with Seán Canney chosen as the man to lead this charge.