Irish Government
The
Government (
Irish:
Rialtas) is the
cabinet that exercises
executive authority in the
Republic of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the
Taoiseach, and a deputy prime minister called the
Tánaiste. The Taoiseach is appointed by the
President after being designated by
Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament). The President then appoints the remaining Ministers of the Government after they have been chosen by the Taoiseach and approved by the Dáil. The Government must enjoy the confidence of the Dáil if it is to remain in office.
Unlike many other
republican constitutions, the
Constitution of Ireland does not make the President even the
nominal chief executive officer, but rather explicitly vests executive authority in the cabinet. The Government is therefore not referred to as
His or
Her Excellency's Government. Under the constitution the Government must consist of between seven and fifteen members. Every member of the Government must be a member of the
Oireachtas (parliament), and no more than two members may be chosen from the
Senate; the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister of Finance must all be members of the Dáil.
The Government is advised by the
Attorney-General who is not formally a member of the Government but participates in its meetings. Similarly the
Chief Whip may also attend meetings of the Government but is not a part of it. Members of the Government are also assisted by
Ministers of State who are nonetheless not part of the Government and do not take part in its meetings.
In the event that the Taoiseach ceases "to retain the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann" there must either be a
dissolution of the Dáil or the Taoiseach must resign.
[Constitution of Ireland, Article 28, Section 10.] The President may, however, refuse to grant a dissolution to a Taoiseach who does not enjoy the support of the Dáil, and thus force their resignation. When the Taoiseach resigns, the entire Government is deemed to have vacated office collectively. The Taoiseach can also direct the President to dismiss or accept the resignation of individual ministers. In any circumstance in which the Taoiseach or Government have been removed from office, however, they continue to exercise their powers until a successor, or successors, have been appointed. The executive authority of the Government is subject to certain limitations. In particular:
*The state may not
declare war, or participate in a war, without the consent of Dáil Éireann.
*
Treaties must be ratified by the Dáil.
*The Government must act in accordance with the constitution.
If the Government fails to fulfill its constitutional duties, it may be ordered to do so by a court of law, by
writ of mandamus. Ministers who fail to comply may, ultimately, be found to be in
contempt of court, and even imprisoned.
The Government was created by the
1937 Constitution of Ireland; the
Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924 and amendments, contains the detailed provisions regarding status and functions of the Government in general.
[Irish Statute Book Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924] The Government was preceded by the
Executive Council of the
1922-
1937 Irish Free State.
One notable aspect of the Irish system is that ministers are 'corporations
sole' - the department does not exist as a legal entity separate to the minister. This leads to the oft quoted phrase in correspondence with Government departments - "the Minister has directed me to write" - on many letters or documents that the minister in question may in fact have never seen.
A number of Government minister positions no longer exist, as distinct from renaming which occurs frequently, their powers are transferred to other ministers - these "defunct" ministers are:
Communications,
Labour,
Posts & Telegraphs,
Public Service and
Supplies. The office of
Minister without portfolio has also being held several times, but not since
1977.
Since the 1990s, all Governments have consisted of coalitions of two or more parties, although coalitions existed intermittently before this. Nowadays, the position of Tánaiste is always held by the leader of the smaller of the two largest
coalition government partners.
The current Cabinet (as of
February 3,
2006) consists of:
The Government, through the civil and public services and state-sponsored bodies, is a significant employer in the state; these three sectors are often called the
public sector. Management of these various bodies vary, for instance in the civil service their will be clearly defined routes and patterns whilst among public services a sponsoring minister or the
Minister for Finance may appoint a board or commission. Commercial activities, where the state involves itself, are typically through the state-sponsored bodies which are usually organised in a similar fashion to private companies.
A recent report on public sector employment,
[Central Statistics Office Public Sector Employment and Earnings (June 2005)] shows that at June 2005 the numbers employed in the public service stood at 350,100; of these by sector they were 38,700 (civil service), 254,100 (public service) and 57,300 (state-sponsored). The total workforce of the state was 1,857,400 that year, thus the public sector represents approximately 20% of the total workforce.
Civil service
The
civil service of the Republic of Ireland consists of two broad components, the
Civil Service of the Government and the
Civil Service of the State. Whilst these two components are largely theoretical they do have some fundamental operational differences. The civil service is expected to maintain political impartiality in its work, and some parts of it are entirely independent of Government decision making.
Public service
The
public service is a relatively broad term and is not clearly defined and sometimes is taken to include the civil service. The public service proper consists of Government agencies and bodies which provide services on behalf of the Government but are not the core civil service. For instance
local authorities,
Vocational Education Committees and
Garda Siochána are considered to be public services.
See also: Irish cabinets since 1919| Dáil | Election/formed | Government | Taoiseach | Tánaiste | Parties |
| 9th | 1937 election | 1st Government | Eamon de Valera | Seán T. O'Kelly | Fianna Fáil |
| 10th | 1938 election | 2nd Government | " | " | Fianna Fáil |
| 11th | 1943 election | 3nd Government | " | " | Fianna Fáil |
| 12th | 1944 election | 4th Government | " | " | Fianna Fáil |
| 13th | 1948 election | 5th Government | John A. Costello | William Norton | Fine Gael, Labour,
Clann na Poblachta,Clann na Talmhan,
National Labour |
| 14th | 1951 election | 6th Government | Eamon de Valera | Sean Lemass | Fianna Fáil |
| 15th | 1954 election | 7th Government | John A. Costello | William Norton | Fine Gael, Labour, Clann na Talmhan |
| 16th | 1957 election | 8th Government | Eamon de Valera | Sean Lemass | Fianna Fáil |
| 1959 | 9th Government | Sean Lemass | Seán MacEntee | Fianna Fáil |
| 17th | 1961 election | 10th Government | " | " | Fianna Fáil |
| 18th | 1965 election | 11th Government | " | Frank Aiken | Fianna Fáil |
| 1966 | 12th Government | Jack Lynch | " | Fianna Fáil |
| 19th | 1969 election | 13th Government | " | Erskine H. Childers | Fianna Fáil |
| 20th | 1973 election | 14th Government | Liam Cosgrave | Brendan Corish | Fine Gael, Labour |
| 21st | 1977 election | 15th Government | Jack Lynch | George Colley | Fianna Fáil |
| 1979 | 16th Government | Charles J. Haughey | " | Fianna Fáil |
| 22nd | 1981 election | 18th Government | Garret FitzGerald | Michael O'Leary | Fine Gael, Labour |
| 23rd | 1982 (Feb) election | 18th Government | Charles J. Haughey | Ray MacSharry | Fianna Fáil |
| 24th | 1982 (Nov) election | 19th Government | Garret FitzGerald | Dick Spring | Fine Gael, Labour |
| 25th | 1987 election | 20th Government | Charles J. Haughey | Brian Lenihan | Fianna Fáil |
| 25th | 1989 election | 21st Government | " | " | Fianna Fáil, Progressive Democrats |
| 26th | 1992 | 22nd Government | Albert Reynolds | John P. Wilson | Fianna Fáil, Progressive Democrats |
| 27th | 1992 election | 23rd Government | " | Dick Spring | Fianna Fáil, Labour |
| 1994 Rainbow Coalition | 24th Government | John Bruton | " | Fine Gael, Labour, Democratic Left |
| 28th | 1997 election | 25th Government | Bertie Ahern | Mary Harney | Fianna Fáil, Progressive Democrats |
| 29th | 2002 election | 26th Government | " | " | Fianna Fáil, Progressive Democrats |
*
Politics of the Republic of Ireland*
Official website - Irish Government
