Government of the 30th Dáil later rejoined the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party in April 2008. Ministers are listed in order of seniority. The 28th Government of Ireland (7 May 2008 – 9 March 2011) was formed following the resignation of Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach on 6 May 2008 and the subsequent election of Brian Cowen as Ireland's 12th head of government. It was initially composed of Fianna Fáil, the Green Party, the Progressive Democrats and supported by independent TDs Jackie Healy-Rae, Michael Lowry and Finian McGrath. McGrath later withdrew his support in October 2008. Following the disbandment of the Progressive Democrats in 2009, it became
Public service of the Republic of Ireland of the civil service is the Secretary General to the Government, currently Martin Fraser. The Secretary General to the Government is a dual-hatted position as they also head up the Department of the Taoiseach, a government department analogous to a cabinet office in other countries. The Civil Service of the State however is a relatively small component of the overall civil service, and its members are expected to be absolutely independent of the government, in addition to normal political independence which is expected. The Civil Service of the State typically comprises specialised agencies such as the Revenue Commissioners, Central Statistics