As Dublin is the Capital City of Ireland it has the privilege of housing the Irish Government. The Houses of the Oireacthas or National Parliament is made up of the President, Dail Eireann (House of Representatives) and Seanad Eireann (Senate).
In earlier posts of this blog I have given an insight in the President and where they reside but today I will explain the office of the President, the Dail and the Seanad.
The President is the Supreme Commander of the Irish Defence Forces and representatives all of the Irish people in official functions both home and away. The president's role in Government is set out in the Irish Constitution but they have no input into policy decisions. The president appoints the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of the country who has been elected by Dail Eireann. Then based on the advice of the Taoiseach the President will appoint all the ministers who work in the Government. They also dissolve the Dail on the advice of the Taoiseach at the end of a term or when the government has no majority to govern any more. At times, if the Government has no majority, the President might instruct the out-going Taoiseach or indeed the opposition leader to try to form a Government.
The President is also responsible for the appointing Judges, Attorney General and Commissioned Officers of the Defence Forces bases on advice from the Government.
The President must also sign bills passed by the Dail and Seanad into law between the 5th and 7th day after it is presented to them but he / she can sign it sooner to have the new law enacted quicker. On occasions the President may think that a bill that has been presented to them may go against the constitution and they may therefore ask the Supreme Court to make a judgement to ensure that the law is correct.
The Dail or the House of Representatives, consists of 166 members or Teachtai Dala or TD's who are elected in the 43 constituencies of Ireland, of which 12 are in Dublin. There is a review of all constituencies after every Irish Census to ensure that the correct balance of TD to voting population is correct.
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| Dail Chambers |
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| Constituencies |
These TD's are elected by the Irish People in a General Election, after the Dail has been dissolved by the President, or via a bye election, following the death or retirement of a standing TD. In Ireland the vote is carried out using PR STV (Proportional Representation Single Transferable Vote) as explained by ACE The Electoral Network
The first Dail meeting was held in the Mansion House (Home of the Lord Mayor of Dublin) in January 1919 where the Irish Constitution was adopted by the members and the Declaration of Independence was approved.
The 166 members of the Dail meet in the chambers every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday where they discuss different topics and laws and vote on the same to get news laws enacted. Most of the detailed work on new bills and laws are completed by the relevant government departments and are introduced to the Dail as and when ready or required.
The Seanad or Senate is made up of 60 senators who are chosen as follows
- 43 elected by five panels representing vocational interests namely, Culture and Education, Agriculture, Labour, Industry and Commerce and Public Administration
- 6 elected by the graduates of two universities: - three each by the National University of Ireland and the University of Dublin (Trinity College)
- 11 nominated by the Taoiseach.
The senators debate and pass bills sent to it by the Dail but have no real authority in determining what laws should be enacted. The current Government has agreed to a review of the Seanad with the possibility that it may be scrapped in order to streamline the political process in the country.
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| Wales Win |
Earlier today (6am) our Rugby world cup odyessy came to an end with a 22 -10 defeat by Wales. Wales were the better team on the day and they go forward to meet France in the semi-final. Good Luck to Wales next week.
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