Press release
Appointment of Secretary General to the Government and Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
The government today agreed to appoint John Callinan as Secretary General to the government and Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach, on the recommendation of the Taoiseach. The appointment will take effect from 3 May 2022.
John Callinan has been the Second Secretary General at the Department of the Taoiseach since 2016, with responsibility for the International and EU Affairs Division and the Britain/Northern Ireland Division including the Shared Island Unit. During this time he was the Taoiseach’s “Sherpa” (senior EU advisor) and he played a key role in the Brexit negotiations.
Callinan joined the Department of the Taoiseach in 1998, and has been a member of the department’s Management Board since he was appointed Assistant Secretary General in 2007. He has worked closely with five successive Taoisigh and has held leadership positions across all major policy areas of the department.
Prior to joining the Taoiseach’s department, Callinan worked in a number of areas of the Revenue Commissioners. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he also spent four years at the European Commission in Brussels.