Editing Jack Lynch (section)

===Minister for Finance===
In 1965, Lemass was once again re-elected Taoiseach. The big change was the retirement of such political heavyweights as [[James Ryan (Irish politician)|James Ryan]] and [[Seán MacEntee]], with Lynch taking over from the former as [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister for Finance]]. This appointment was particularly significant because Lemass was coming to the end of his premiership and wanted to prepare a successor. As a result, Lynch took charge of the second most important position in the government, gaining widespread experience in a number of affairs, and accompanying Lemass to [[London]] to sign one of the most important trade agreements between Ireland and the [[United Kingdom]]. One occasion in which Lynch's authority was seen to be undermined as Minister for Finance was when the Minister for Education, [[Donogh O'Malley]], announced that the government would provide free secondary school education for all. This proposal had not been discussed at Cabinet level as would be required to fund such a service. It subsequently transpired that Lemass had previously agreed the decision without cabinet discussion as was required.