The Department of Enterprise is to be beefed up to improve the optics of a proposed move for Helen McEntee from the Justice Department, BusinessPlus.ie understands, writes John Lee.

The Energy portfolio, seen by both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael as one of primary importance, will be added to the old Enterprise and Employment portfolios to make the department a "serious heavy hitter again" according to senior figures familiar with Government formation talks.

It is understood that Fine Gael is happy to meet pre-election demands by incoming Taoiseach Micheál Martin that the Department of Justice be given to a Fianna Fáil Minister.

Fine Gael has held the Justice portfolio, seen as one of the most difficult and controversial of all Government Departments, for 14 years.

Although there has been speculation about McEntee's future, the Irish Mail on Sunday understands that she will be given a choice of departments, after Simon Harris assumes the Department of Foreign Affairs.

A senior Fine Gael figure said: "Helen is a key supporter of Simon so she can dictate her own future. If she decides to stay at the Department of Justice, where she may find she has unfinished business, then she can.

"However, if she decides she wants to move on, the Department of Enterprise and Employment will be significantly strengthened by the adding of Energy to its portfolio, which will make it a department that is a heavy-hitter again. She may well decide that is a good fit.

"Energy, with its overarching national and global importance, will be arguably the greatest issue for this Government."

Mr Harris has floated the idea of a Minister for Infrastructure, and as a compromise it is believed a number of departments will be recast to focus on investment, development and reform of infrastructure.

There will also be a partial breakup of departments that had been run by Green Ministers, the newspaper also understands.

Energy will be split from the Department of Transport - the two had been under Eamon Ryan - and the latter will be dedicated to "accelerating and refocusing" transport infrastructure construction.

It was felt that the departments under the Greens had too many important portfolios under their umbrellas.

The Tourism and Gaeltacht aspects of Catherine Martin's old Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media will go in with Rural Affairs, with a focus being on Tourism.

A Fine Gael source said: "For one of our most important sectors, tourism, to have been put into such a cornucopia of a ministry was mad. It wasn't Catherine's fault, wholly, but since most of her latter time was focussed on the RTÉ scandal, there were priority problems."

Integration will also be split from the Department of Children and returned to Justice.

The negotiators have set a deadline of next Sunday for conclusion of the talks, to allow Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil memberships to vote on a programme for Government before a proposed formation of the Coalition on January 22.

Negotiating teams are expected to leave the most contentious of matters to the two party leaders, Mr Martin and Mr Harris, to sort out.

The one issue on which the two main parties are far apart is a Fine Gael election manifesto proposal that the VAT break for the hospitality industry be restored.

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said that his party, if re-elected would hold a 'mini-Budget' to cut the VAT rate to 11% for hotels and restaurants. However, Fianna Fáil and senior officials at the Department of Finance strongly oppose the proposal.

Outgoing Finance Minister Jack Chambers condemned the proposal during the election campaign as "regressive".

A Fianna Fáil source familiar with Government negotiations said: "We agreed as two parties in a pre-election Budget not to restore the VAT break for hospitality for two good reasons. It's too expensive and this sector isn't half as popular as some people think it is.

"There are myriad reasons for why hotels and restaurants claim they are struggling. Hotels really have no credible claim to Government assistance. There are multifaceted reasons for restaurants closing.

"There will have to be serious compromises here. Senior officials at Finance think this is a bonkers idea too."

As the Department of An Taoiseach is rotating from Fine Gael back to Fianna Fáil, Mr Donohoe will reassume the Minister for Finance role, and as such have a major say over taxation.

During the campaign when asked about the 11% proposal, the Fianna Fáil leader said it meant gas and electricity prices would have to rise, and that his party had committed to keeping VAT at 9% for energy prices.

Photo: Minister Helen McEntee. Photo: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie