dil ireann

Dil ireann is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland¹. It is directly elected once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the Single Transferable Vote. Its powers are similar to those of lower houses under many other parliamentary systems and it is by far the dominant branch of the Oireachtas. It effectively has power to pass any law it wishes, and to nominate and remove the Taoiseach (head of government). It meets, since 1922, in Leinster House in Dublin.

Composition

The current, 29th Dil has 166 members. Members are directly elected at least once in every five years by the people of the Republic of Ireland under the system of proportional representation by means of the Single Transferable Vote (STV). Membership of the Dil is open to citizens who are 21 or older. A member of the Dil is known as a TD (Teachta Dla) or deputy.

Election

The Dil electorate consists of Irish and United Kingdom citizens over 18 years of age. Under the Constitution of Ireland a general election for Dil ireann must occur once in every seven years, but a five year limit is currently specified by statute. The Taoiseach (head of government) can, by making a request to the president, effectively dissolve the Dil at any time, in which case a general election must occur within thirty days. The STV electoral system broadly produces proportional representation in the Dil. The small size of the constituencies used, however, usually gives a small advantage to the larger parties and under-represents smaller parties. Since the 1990s the norm in the state has been coalition governments. Prior to 1989, however, one party governments, usually of the Fianna Fil party, were very common. The multi-seat constituencies required by STV mean that candidates must often compete for election with others from the same party. This increases voter choice but is accused by some of producing TDs who are excessively parochial. Two failed attempts--1959 and 1968--have been made to change to the British Single Member Plurality ('First-past-the-post') electoral system. Both were rejected in referenda. By-elections occur under the Alternative Vote system. Currently every constituency elects between three and five TDs (the average is 3.9). The constitution specifies that no constituency may return fewer than three TDs but does not specify any upper limit to constituency magnitude. The constitution requires that constituency boundaries be reviewed at least once in every twelve years, so that boundaries may be redrawn to accommodate changes in population. Boundary changes are currently drafted by an independent commission, and its recommendation are usually followed. Malapportionment is forbidden by the constitution.

Number of Members

Under the Constitution of Ireland there must never be fewer than one TD for every thirty thousand of the population, nor more than one for every twenty thousand. The fact, however, that all ministers must be drawn from the Republic's small parliament and the need, therefore, for the lower house to provide a sufficiently large pool of talent for skilled individuals to be found for positions in the Government, has meant that in practice the ratio of TDs to citizens has always stayed close to the latter figure. In the 29th Dil there is one TD for every 21 thousand citizens, one of the most generous such ratios anywhere in the world. With the adoption of the current constitution in 1937 to the membership of the Dil was reduced from 153 to 138, but in the 1960s Sen Lemass as Taoiseach found difficulty in appointing ministers. The number was therefore increased, only to be increased more substantially in 1981 to current figure of 166

Ceann Comhairle

Main article: Ceann Comhairle The speaker, or presiding member, of Dil ireann is the Ceann Comhairle. The Ceann Comhairle is chosen from among TDs but is expected to observe strict impartiality. Despite this, the government will usually try to select one of its own for the position, if its numbers allow. In order to protect the neutrality of the chair, an incumbent Ceann Comhairle does not seek re-election as a TD but rather is deemed automatically to have been re-elected by their constituency at a general election, unless they are retiring. The Ceann Comhairle does not vote except in the event of a tie. In this event they generally vote in accordance with the parliamentary conventions relating to the Speaker of the British House of Commons.

Powers

While in principle Dil ireann is only one of three components of the Oireachtas, the other two being the President of Ireland and Seanad ireann, in practice the powers the constitution grants to the Dil render it by far the dominant branch, meaning that most bills passed by Dil ireann will ultimately become law. In addition to its legislative role, it is the Dail that designates the Taoiseach. The Dil may also pass a motion of no confidence in the Government, in which case the Taoiseach must either seek a parliamentary dissolution or resign². The Dil also has exclusive power to:

Propose the budget (which may not originate in the Senate).
Ratify treaties.
Declare war or permit the state to participate in a war.

Activities

Dil ireann determines its own standing orders and its members are protected by certain rights arising from parliamentary privilege. In line with other modern parliamentary systems, TDs do not generally vote first and foremost in accordance with their consciences or the wishes of their constituents, but must follow the instructions of party whips. Except in exceptional circumstances, the Dil meets in public.

History

Precursors

The first legislature to exist in Ireland was the Parliament of Ireland and the first legislative lower house was the House of Commons of this body. However the Parliament of Ireland was abolished under the Act of Union of 1800. Irish nationalists first convened Dil ireann as a revolutionary parliament in 1919 but it was not recognised under British law. In 1921 the British government established a legislature called the Parliament of Southern Ireland in an effort to appease nationalists by granting Ireland limited home rule. However this body was rejected and boycotted by nationalists whose allegiance remained with the Dil. Nonetheless, because the First Dil was illegal under the British constitution, the lower house of the Parliament of Southern Ireland, the House of Commons of Southern Ireland, may be considered a precursor to the Dil as it exists today.

The First Dil (1919)

First Dil
Laurence Ginnell (first from left, front row),
Michael Collins (second from left, front row),
Eamon de Valera (centre, front row),
W.T. Cosgrave (second from right, front row)

Main article: Dil ireann (1919-1922) The current Dil derives from the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, but claims a direct line of descent from the 'First Dil' of 1919. The First Dil was an extra-legal assembly established by Sinn Fin MPs elected to the House of Commons in the 1918 UK General Election. Upon winning a majority of Irish seats in the election (many uncontested), Sinn Fin MPs refused to recognise the British parliament and instead convened as the First Dil ireann (translated as "Assembly of Ireland"): the unicameral legislature of a new notional Irish Republic, and the first Irish parliament to exist since 1801. The Dil of the Irish Republic, however, never received either international recognition or the recognition of the UK government. The first meeting of the Dil occurred in Dublin, in the Mansion House. Subsequently the body was forced underground and met in number of locations.

Irish Free State (1922-1937)

Main article: Dil ireann (Irish Free State) The Dil of the Irish Republic was succeeded in 1922 by the Dil of the Irish Free State. The Irish Free State, comprising the twenty-six southern counties of the island of Ireland, was established under the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. Dil ireann (now described as a "Chamber of Deputies") became the lower house of a new legislature called the Oireachtas. The first Dil to exist under the constitution of the Irish Free State succeeded the Second Dil of the Irish Republic and so was styled the Third Dil. The Third Dil, and every subsequent Dil, has met in Leinster House.

Constitution of Ireland (1937-present)

The Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, established the modern Irish state, referred to today as the Republic Ireland. Under the constitution a new legislature retained the title Oireachtas, and its lower house remained Dil ireann (although it was now described as a "House Representatives"). The first Dil to meet under the Constitution of Ireland was described as the Ninth Dil.

Members of the 29th Dil (May, 2002-present)

Main article: Members of the 29th Dil

Party!!May 2002!!March 2005
i>Fianna Fil	81	78
a href="/encyclopedia/Fine-Gael" title="Fine Gael">Fine Gael	31	32
a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Labour-Party" title="Irish Labour Party">Labour	20	21
i>Progressive Democrats	8	8
a href="/encyclopedia/Irish-Green-Party" title="Irish Green Party">Green Party	6	6
a href="/encyclopedia/Sinn-Fin" title="Sinn Fin">Sinn Fin	5	5
a href="/encyclopedia/Socialist-Party-of-Ireland" title="Socialist Party of Ireland">Socialist Party (SP)	1	1
ndependent	13	14
a href="/encyclopedia/Ceann-Comhairle" title="Ceann Comhairle">Ceann Comhairle (speaker)	1	1

(Government coalition parties in italics)

Footnotes

Dil ireann is Irish Gaelic. It may be pronounced as: "dawl", or "doyle", "air-rinn".
It has happened only once that this did not result in a general election: in 1994 John Bruton of Fine Gael became Taoiseach when Labour left the Fianna Fil government of Albert Reynolds.