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Irish GovernmentThe 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 Tnaiste. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President after being designated by Dil ireann (the lower house of parliament). The President then appoints the remaining ministers after they have been chosen by the Taoiseach and approved by the Dil. The Government must enjoy the confidence of the Dil if it is to remain in office. Overview The Constitution of Ireland is unusual among republican constitutions in that it does not make the President at least the nominal chief executive officer, but rather explicitly vests executive authority in the Government. The Irish cabinet 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), but no more than two members may be chosen from the Senate, and the Taoiseach, Tnaiste and Minister of Finance must all be members of the Dil. The Government is advised by the Attorney-General who is not formally a member of the Government but participates in its meetings. Members of the Government are also assisted by Ministers of State who are nonetheless not part of the cabinet and do not take part in its meetings. In the event that the Taoiseach ceases "to retain the support of a majority in Dil ireann" there must either be a dissolution of the Dil or the Taoiseach must resign1. The President may, however, refuse to grant a dissolution to a Taoiseach who does not enjoy the support of the Dil, 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 cabinet 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 Dil ireann.
- Treaties must be ratified by the Dil.
- 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. 26th Government (2002-present) Main article: Government of the 29th Dil The current Cabinet (as of September 29, 2004) consists of: | olspan=1 bgcolor="#CCCCCC"|Portfolio | colspan=1 bgcolor="#CCCCCC"|Minister | | a href="/encyclopedia/Taoiseach" title="Taoiseach">An Taoiseach | Bertie Ahern | | a href="/encyclopedia/Tnaiste" title="Tnaiste">An Tnaiste | Mary Harney | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Finance" title="Irish Minister for Finance">Minister for Finance | Brian Cowen | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Foreign-Affairs" title="Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs">Minister for Foreign Affairs | Dermot Ahern | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Justice,-Equality-&-Law-Reform" title="Irish Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform">Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform | Michael McDowell | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Enterprise,-Trade-&-Employment" title="Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment">Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment | Michel Martin | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Agriculture" title="Irish Minister for Agriculture">Minister for Agriculture & Food | Mary Coughlan | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Arts,-Sport-&-Tourism" title="Irish Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism">Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism | John O'Donoghue | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Communications,-Marine-&-Natural-Resources" title="Irish Minister for Communications, Marine & Natural Resources">Minister for Communications, Marine & Natural Resources | Noel Dempsey | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Community,-Rural-&-Gaeltacht-Affairs" title="Irish Minister for Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs">Minister for Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs | Eamon Civ | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Defence" title="Irish Minister for Defence">Minister for Defence | Willie O'Dea | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Education-&-Science" title="Irish Minister for Education & Science">Minister for Education & Science | Mary Hanafin | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-the-Environment,-Heritage-&-Local-Government" title="Irish Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government">Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government | Dick Roche | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Health-&-Children" title="Irish Minister for Health & Children">Minister for Health & Children | Mary Harney | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Transport" title="Irish Minister for Transport">Minister for Transport | Martin Cullen | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-for-Social-&-Family-Affairs" title="Irish Minister for Social & Family Affairs">Minister for Social & Family Affairs | Samus Brennan | | a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Minister-of-State-at-the-Department-of-the-Taoiseach" title="Irish Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach">Government Chief Whip | Tom Kitt | Civil Service The 'Civil Service of the Government' is the body of civil servants which advise and carry out the work of the Government. Each minister is responsible for a 'Department of State', of which there are fifteen (one for each assigned portfolio). As well as this, there may also be a number of Ministers of State assigned to a department. The permanent head of a department is known as the Secretary-General (equivilant to a Permanent Secretary in the British Civil Service). The head of the civil service is the Secretary-General to the Government, who is also Secretary-General of the Department of the Taoiseach. Most civil service positions are recruited openly by the Public Appointments Service (formerly the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commission). It has become practice in recent times for some outside advisors to also work in government departments, such as 'programme managers', however this tends to differ from Government to Government. 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 Irish 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. Origins 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 general2. The Government was preceded by the Executive Council of the 1922-1937 Irish Free State. A number of government minister positions no longer exist, as distinct from renaming which occurs frequently, their powers are tranfered 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 it has been common for Irish cabinets to consist of coalitions of two or more parties, although coalitions have existed previous to this. The position of Tnaiste is often held by the smallest of the two largest coalition government partners. List of Governments See also: Irish cabinets since 1919 | Dil | Election/formed | Government | Taoiseach | Tnaiste | Parties | | 9th | 1937 election | 1st Government | Eamon de Valera | Sen T. O'Kelly | Fianna Fil | | 10th | 1938 election | 2nd Government | " | " | Fianna Fil | | 11th | 1943 election | 3nd Government | " | " | Fianna Fil | | 12th | 1944 election | 4th Government | " | " | Fianna Fil | | 13th | 1948 election | 5th Government | John A. Costello | William Norton | Fine Gael, Labour,
Clann na Poblachta | | 14th | 1951 election | 6th Government | Eamon de Valera | Sean Lemass | Fianna Fil | | 15th | 1954 election | 7th Government | John A. Costello | William Norton | Fine Gael, Labour | | 16th | 1957 election | 8th Government | Eamon de Valera | Sean Lemass | Fianna Fil | | 1959 | 9th Government | Sean Lemass | Sen MacEntee | Fianna Fil | | 17th | 1961 election | 10th Government | " | " | Fianna Fil | | 18th | 1965 election | 11th Government | " | Frank Aiken | Fianna Fil | | 1966 | 12th Government | Jack Lynch | " | Fianna Fil | | 19th | 1969 election | 13th Government | " | Erskine H. Childers | Fianna Fil | | 20th | 1973 election | 14th Government | Liam Cosgrave | Brendan Corish | Fine Gael, Labour | | 21st | 1977 election | 15th Government | Jack Lynch | George Colley | Fianna Fil | | 1979 | 16th Government | Charles J. Haughey | " | Fianna Fil | | 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 Fil | | 24th | 1982 (Nov) election | 19th Government | Garret FitzGerald | Dick Spring | Fine Gael, Labour | | 25th | 1987 election | 20th Government | Charles J. Haughey | Brian Lenihan | Fianna Fil | | 25th | 1989 election | 21st Government | " | " | Fianna Fil, Progressive Democrats | | 26th | 1992 | 22nd Government | Albert Reynolds | John P. Wilson | Fianna Fil, Progressive Democrats | | 27th | 1992 election | 23rd Government | " | Dick Spring | Fianna Fil, Labour | | 1994 Rainbow Coalition | 24th Government | John Bruton | " | Fine Gael, Labour, Democratic Left | | 28th | 1997 election | 25th Government | Bertie Ahern | Mary Harney | Fianna Fil, Progressive Democrats | | 29th | 2002 election | 26th Government | " | " | Fianna Fil, Progressive Democrats | Footnotes - Quoted text is from Article 28, Section 10 of the Constitution of Ireland.
- See Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924 from IrishStatuteBook.ie.
See also External link
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