We finally have a Government, and a minister for agriculture, but we certainly had to wait. For Michael Creed, it is a welcome surprise to find himself in Cabinet, coming in from the cold. His ability has never been in question; now is his chance to put it to use in high office.

Some saw Simon Coveney’s new position as a demotion, but it was widely speculated that he wanted and would get environment, and essentially he has. If it was a Junior Cert maths problem, it would be: environment – (climate change + housing) = ?.

Last Friday was a day of high drama, with Enda Kenny being proposed for Taoiseach in the Dáil chamber even as final desperate negotiations continued outside to secure the support required from the Independent Alliance. In the end, five of that grouping stepped in, with Michael Fitzmaurice stepping out. He would not support the Government without assurances on turf-cutting, reportedly even turning down a ministry in the process. This was ridiculed in some sectors as “parish pump” politics.

That’s rubbish. Most people in rural Ireland, who have always paid for water, have looked on bewildered as the water charges campaign became the red-line issue for urban Ireland. The fact that water conservation was a primary motivation for meters and chargers was glossed over. Yet environmental regulations were cited as meaning families who own turf have no right to put their case forward.

The pity is that Fitzmaurice had been one of the rural TDs who gained a lot from the negotiations, such as the sheep payment and the increase in the disadvantaged area payments. His constituency colleague Denis Naughten was another, and now finds himself in Cabinet. Some are now predicting he will rejoin Fine Gael in the medium term.

Sean Canney and Kevin “Boxer” Moran will share a rotating junior ministry, with Canney winning a coin toss to see who gets first dibs. It’s a great little country.

Elsewhere, The Dealer notes that two prominent Co Meath dairy farmers were lobbying hard in the past couple of weeks to ensure that Meath TD Helen McEntee gets as high-profile a role as possible in Government. McEntee did not get a senior ministerial position but is a shoo-in for a junior role.