This was not a radical reshuffle, but it has strategic aims.
It brings two new capable Fine Gael politicians from what could be termed rural constituencies into the Cabinet.
Patrick O’Donovan’s elevation to the role of Minister for Higher Education ensures too that there is a senior Fine Gael minister in Munster, where the party is under severe pressure.
His instincts are towards more traditional Fine Gael values with an emphasis on law and order and maintaining a close bond with the farming community.
Peter Burke is viewed as a highly competent and affable politician with a in-depth knowledge of issues on the ground.
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He will be tasked with delivering a package of supports for struggling small businesses.
Dún Laoghaire TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will probably feel disappointed that she was not promoted to the senior ranks, but she does move to the prominent role of European Minister.
This might be enough to allow the new Taoiseach emerge from this reshuffle without making enemies, something that has been a core tenet of his political approach.
However there are some in his party who believe he should have appointed a new Minister for Justice, with Helen McEntee set to remain in the role.
The failure to do so will make it more difficult for the party to sell its message that it is going to get though on crime.
Should this become a thorny issue in the next election campaign, then the failure to make a change in the Department of Justice would be viewed as a central flaw in this reshuffle.
