The move will spark a Government reshuffle
PASCHAL Donohoe is resigning as Minister for Finance, it has been confirmed.

He will step down from Cabinet, as a Fine Gael TD for Dublin Central and as President of the EuroGroup to take up a new job.

Donohoe has accepted a role with the World Bank, which is based in Washington DC.

He will take up a position as managing director and chief knowledge officer of the bank.

The move will spark a reshuffle on the Fine Gael side of the Government, with the Minister for Finance role now up for grabs.

And the move will result in a by-election in Donohoe’s Dublin Central constituency.

A significant departure from the Government was being speculated about as ministers met this morning.

The last time this took place was in March 2024, when Leo Varadkar stepped down as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader, declaring: “After seven years in office, I am no longer the best person for that job.”

The 51-year-old was first elected as a TD in February 2011, but he had served as a member of the Seanad from 2007 to 2011.

He served as the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport from July 2014 until May 2016, and held the position of Minister for European Affairs at the Department of An Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs from July 2013 until July 2014. 

Donohoe was first elected as President of the EuroGroup of Finance Ministers in July 2020 for a two-and-a-half year term, and has since been re-elected on two occasions – the most recent being in July 2025.

He was re-appointed to the role of Minister for Public Expenditure in January 2025, having served in it previously from 2017.