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The Oireachtas (IPA: [ɛrʲaxt̪ˠasˠ]) is the "national parliament"[1] or legislature of the Republic of Ireland, sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The Republic of Ireland is a parliamentary representative democratic Republic. The Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann came into force on 29 December 1937 after having been passed by a national plebiscite the previous July An amendment may be made to any part of the Constitution of Ireland, the founding law of Ireland, but only by referendum. Seanad Éireann (ɕan̪ˠad̪ˠ erʲan̪ˠ English Senate of Ireland) also known unofficially as the Senate, is the Upper house of the Oireachtas Cathaoirleach (plural Cathaoirligh) is the title of the speaker of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the Irish Pat Moylan (born 12 September 1946 is an Irish politician and member of Seanad Éireann for Fianna Fáil. ga '''Dáil Éireann''' ( English House of Representatives of Ireland) is the principal chamber of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament The Ceann Comhairle (/kʲaːn̪ˠ ˈkoːrʎə/ Irish for "head of the council" is the speaker or chairperson of Dáil Éireann, the John O'Donoghue (Seán Ó Donnchú born 28 May 1956 is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician and is the current Ceann Comhairle (speaker of Dáil The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Head of state of Ireland. WikipediaManual of Style (biographies#Academic titles --> Mary Patricia McAleese (Máire Pádraigín The Council of State (Comhairle Stáit is an institution established by the Constitution of Ireland to advise the President of Ireland in the exercise of many of The Presidential Commission (Coimisiún Uachtarán is the collective vice-presidency of Ireland. The Government of Ireland (Rialtas na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Taoiseach (ˈtiːʃəx in English t̪ˠiːʃʲəx (plural Taoisigh ( or) in Irish) also referred to as An Taoiseach ( t̪ˠiːʃʲəx is the the Brian Cowen (Brian Ó Comhain born) is the current Taoiseach of Ireland. The Tánaiste (ˈtɑːnəʃtʲə plural Tánaistí) or more formally An Tánaiste, is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. Mary Coughlan (Máire Ní Chochláinn born 28 May 1965 is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician A Department of State (Roinn Stáit of Ireland, is a department or ministry of the Government of Ireland. A Minister of State (Aire Stáit in Ireland, is a ' junior minister', and is of non- Cabinet rank attached to one or more Departments of State The Opposition Front Bench in the Republic of Ireland is a group of senior Parliamentary opposition Teachtaí Dála who together under the leadership of The Leader of the Opposition (Ceannaire an Fhreasúra in the Republic of Ireland is the politician who at least in theory leads the Parliamentary Opposition bloc For the Australian singer see Enda Kenny (singer Enda Kenny (Éanna Ó Cionnaith born 24 April 1951 an Irish politician The Civil Service (An Stát-sheirbhís of Ireland is the collective term for the permanent staff of the Departments of State and certain State Agencies The Attorney General (An tArd-Aighne is a constitutional officer who is the official adviser to the Government of Ireland in matters of law The Supreme Court (Cúirt Uachtarach is the highest judicial authority in the Republic of Ireland. The Chief Justice of Ireland is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The High Court (An Ard-Chúirt of Ireland is a Court which deals at first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases and also The Court of Criminal Appeal (An Chúirt Achomhaire Choiriúil of Ireland hears appeals of indictable offences tried in the Circuit Court, the Central The Special Criminal Court (Cúirt Choiriúil Speisialta is a Juryless criminal Court in the Republic of Ireland which tries terrorist and The Circuit Court ( An Chúirt Chuarda in Irish) of Ireland consists of a President and thirty-three judges The District Court ( An Chúirt Dúiche in Irish) of Ireland consists of a President and sixty judges The Republic of Ireland elects on national level a Head of state — the President — and a Legislature. The Irish presidential election of 2004 was set for 22 October 2004 The European Parliament election 2004 was the Ireland component of the European Parliament election 2004. The Irish general election of 2007 took place on 24 May 2007 after the dissolution of the 29th Dáil by the President on 29 April 2007 at the request of The 2004 Irish local elections were held in all the counties cities and towns of Ireland on 11 June 2004, on the same day as the European elections The lower house of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament Dáil Éireann, currently contains 166 Teachtaí Dála (TDs representing 43 parliamentary constituencies This is a list of all By-elections to Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament ( Oireachtas) since 1923 There are a number of political parties in the Republic of Ireland, and Coalition governments are common This is an incomplete list of public-representative office-holders elected and appointed since 1918 up to the present day in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland Since the late 16th century the Island of Ireland has been divided into 32 counties ( Irish language contae or condae Local government in the Republic of Ireland is governed by the Local Government Acts, the most recent of which ( Local Government Act 2001) established a two-tier structure The European Union is a unique entity possessing elements of Intergovernmentalism, Supranationalism and a Multi-party Parliamentary democracy The foreign relations of Ireland are substantially influenced by its membership of the European Union, although bilateral relations with the United States General demographics Population 1685267 The population of Northern Ireland has increased annually since 1978 Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe.

The Oireachtas consists of:

The Houses of the Oireachtas sit in Leinster House in Dublin, an eighteenth century ducal palace. The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Head of state of Ireland. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. ga '''Dáil Éireann''' ( English House of Representatives of Ireland) is the principal chamber of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament Seanad Éireann (ɕan̪ˠad̪ˠ erʲan̪ˠ English Senate of Ireland) also known unofficially as the Senate, is the Upper house of the Oireachtas Leinster House (Teach Laighean is the name of the building housing the national parliament of the Republic of Ireland (Oireachtas Éireann Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system A duke is a member of the Nobility, historically of highest rank below the Sovereign, and historically controlled a Duchy or a Dukedom A palace is a grand residence especially the home of a Head of state or some other high-ranking Public figure. The directly-elected Dáil is by far the most powerful branch of the Oireachtas.

Contents

Composition

Dáil Éireann, the lower house, is directly elected under universal suffrage of all Irish and British citizens who are resident and at least eighteen years of age, and is held at least once in every five years as required by law. Universal suffrage (also universal adult suffrage, general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of the right to vote to However the house can usually be dissolved at any time at the request of the Taoiseach (head of government). The Taoiseach (ˈtiːʃəx in English t̪ˠiːʃʲəx (plural Taoisigh ( or) in Irish) also referred to as An Taoiseach ( t̪ˠiːʃʲəx is the the Dáil elections occur under the system of proportional representation by means of the Single Transferable Vote. Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation or PR is a category of electoral formula aiming at a close match between the percentage of votes Single transferable vote (STV is a preferential Voting system designed to minimize Wasted votes and provide Proportional representation The Seanad is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members selected in a number of ways. 43 senators are elected by councillors and parliamentarians, 11 are appointed by the Taoiseach, and six are elected by two university constituencies. A university constituency is a Constituency, used in elections to a Legislature, that represents a University rather than a geographical area The President of Ireland is directly elected once in every seven years, for a maximum of two terms. However if, as has occurred on a number of occasions, a consensus among the larger political parties can result in only a single candidate being nominated, then no actual ballot occurs.

Role

Leinster House, the seat of both Houses of the Oireachtas.
Leinster House, the seat of both Houses of the Oireachtas.

To become law a bill must first be approved by both the Dáil and in most circumstances the Seanad (although the Dáil can override a Seanad refusal to pass a Bill), and then signed into law by the President. Bills to amend the Constitution must also be approved by the People prior to being presented to the President. In most circumstances, the President is in effect obliged to sign all laws approved by the Houses of the Oireachtas, although he or she has the power to refer most bills to the Supreme Court for a ruling on constitutionality. The powers of the Seanad are in effect limited to delay rather than veto. It is the Dáil, therefore, that is the supreme tier of the Irish legislature. The general enacting formula for Acts of the Oireachtas is: "Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:-", for an act with a preamble this enacting formula is, instead, "Be it therefore enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:—". An enacting formula, or enacting clause, is a short phrase that introduces the main provisions of a Law enacted by some Legislatures It usually This is a list of Acts of the Oireachtas for the years 1922 to present

Powers

The Oireachtas has exclusive power to:

Limitations

Committees

Each house of the Oireachtas has its own committees but there are also a number of joint committees that include members of both. See also Committee A Joint Committee is a term used in politics to refer to a committee made up of members of both chambers of a Bicameral parliament There are currently twenty of these (the first thirteen below are based on the thirteen select committees of the Dáil):

History

The word oireachtas comes from the Irish language name MacOireachtaigh (Geraghty), believed to have been advisors to ancient King O'Connor and has been the title of two parliaments in Irish history: the current Oireachtas of the Republic of Ireland, since 1937, and, immediately before that, the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State of 1922–1937. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. The history of Ireland begins with the first known settlement in Ireland around 8000 BC when Hunter-gatherers arrived from Great Britain and continental From 1922 to 1937 the Oireachtas was the Legislature, or parliament of the Irish Free State.

The earliest parliament in Ireland was the Parliament of Ireland, in existence until 1801. The Parliament of Ireland (Irish Parlaimint na hEireann) was a Legislature that existed from mediæval times until 1800. This parliament governed the whole island of Ireland but was, over its history, subordinate to varying degrees to the English, and later British, Parliament. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories This Parliament consisted of the King of Ireland, a House of the Lords and a House of Commons. The designation King of Ireland (Rí na hÉireann and Queen (regnant of Ireland was used during three periods of Irish history. The Irish House of Lords (Irish Teach na dTiarnai) was the Upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from mediæval times until 1800 The Irish House of Commons was the Lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800 In 1800 the Irish Parliament abolished itself when, after widespread bribery of members, it adopted the Act of Union, which came into effect from 1 January 1801. The phrase Act of Union 1800 (or sometimes Act of Union 1801) (Acht an Aontais 1800 is used to describe two complementary Acts whose official United Kingdom titles are New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1801 ( MDCCCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Tuesday

The next legislature to exist in Ireland only came into being in 1919. This was an extra-legal, unicameral parliament established by Irish republicans, known simply as Dáil Éireann. Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber Irish republicanism (Poblachtánachas is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a single independent Republic Dáil Éireann (English Assembly of Ireland) was the revolutionary unicameral parliament of the unilaterally declared Irish Republic This revolutionary Dáil was notionally a legislature for the whole island of Ireland. In 1920, in parallel to the extra-legal Dáil, the British government created a home rule legislature called the Parliament of Southern Ireland. Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at Home rule refers to a demand that constituent parts of a state be given greater self-government within the greater administrative purview of the central government The Parliament of Southern Ireland was set up during the Anglo-Irish War under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, evolving out of the Home Rule Act 1914 However this parliament was boycotted by most Irish politicians. It was made up of the King, the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and the Senate of Southern Ireland. House of Commons of Southern Ireland was the lower house of the Irish parliament created by the Government of Ireland Act, passed in 1920 during the Irish War The Senate of Southern Ireland (1921–1922 was the Upper house of the Parliament of Southern Ireland theoretically established by the 1920 Government The Parliament of Southern Ireland was formally abolished in 1922, with the establishment of the Oireachtas under the Constitution of the Irish Free State. The Constitution of the Irish Free State was the founding legal document of the 1922-1937 Irish Free State.

The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State consisted officially of the King and two houses, named, as their successors would be, Dáil Éireann (described, in this case, as a 'Chamber of Deputies') and Seanad Éireann. The King was the Head of state of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. However the Free State Senate was abolished in 1935. Seanad Éireann (Senate of Ireland was the Upper house of the Oireachtas (parliament of the Irish Free State from 1922–1936 The modern Oireachtas came into being in 1937, with the adoption by referendum of the Constitution of Ireland.

Televising of the Oireachtas

The televising of Oireachtas debates commenced in 1990, while those of committees commenced in 1993. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic [2] Since 2005, live broadcasts over the internet of both houses have been made available by HEAnet and the eDemocracy Unit of the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas. HEAnet ( Ireland's National Education & Research Network) provides high-speed Internet access to academic institutions in Ireland direct to European

In 2008 the next phase of televising of Oireachtas debates commenced on the digital aerial trial in preparation for the launch of digital aerial TV (DTT) in 2009 in the Republic of Ireland. Oireachtas TV (officially Bealach Tithe An Oireachtais in Irish, or Houses of the Oireachtas Channel in English) is currently encrypted and began coverage in on 7 April 2008. Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Passage of the Broadcasting Bill 2008 will establish it as a public service broadcaster when it will most likely integrate with the Oireachtas website formally.

The channel will provide for coverage of the Houses of the Oireachtas and the programming of other world parliaments. It will be operated by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. It is expected on the Irish DTT service in 2009 and also on cable and satellite platforms in Ireland and abroad in addition. It is likely that existing Internet feeds service will be optimised for integrated media player viewing at the Oireachtas website similar to Live TV on RTÉ's website.

Northern Ireland representation

Although, as adopted in 1937, Article 3 of the constitution asserted the "right of the parliament and government established by this constitution to exercise jurisdiction" over the whole of Ireland, it also provided that pending the "re-integration of the national territory" Acts of the Oireachtas would not apply to Northern Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Therefore no serious attempts have been made for the representation of Northern Ireland in the Dáil. As Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, while a staunch opponent of partition, who had been elected to represent a Northern constituency in the First Dáil, did not pursue the idea of seats in the Dáil for Northern Ireland, on the grounds that this would amount to representation without taxation[3], although subsequent Taoisigh have appointed people from Northern Ireland to the Seanad. Éamon de Valera (ˈeɪmən dɛvəˈlɛrə (born Edward George de Valera) (14 October 1882 &ndash 29 August 1975 was one of the dominant political figures in 20th century Dáil Éireann (English Assembly of Ireland) was the revolutionary unicameral parliament of the unilaterally declared Irish Republic

More recently, Sinn Féin has advocated that elected representatives from Stormont, Westminster, or Strasbourg should have the right to participate in Dáil debates, if not voting rights. Sinn Féin () is a political party in Ireland. The current party led by Gerry Adams was formed following a split in January 1970 The Northern Ireland Assembly ( Irish: Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann Semmlie) is the devolved The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU ga '''Dáil Éireann''' ( English House of Representatives of Ireland) is the principal chamber of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament In 2005 the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, proposed that Northern Ireland MPs should be able to address a committee of the whole of house sitting in the Dáil chamber. Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern ( Irish: Pádraig Parthalán Ó hEachthairn, born 12 September 1951 is an Irish politician who served However both the media and Fine Gael, Labour, the Irish Greens, the Socialist Party and the Ahern's coalition partners, the Progressive Democrats, all opposed the idea, as did some Oireachtas members from Fianna Fáil. Fine Gael – The United Ireland Party, shortened to Fine Gael (ˌfina gail meaning Family of the Irish or Tribe of the Irish, is the second largest The Labour Party (Páirtí an Lucht Oibre is a Democratic socialist and Social democratic Political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Green Party (Comhaontas Glas lit Green Alliance) is a green Political party in Ireland. The Socialist Party (in Irish Páirtí Sóisialach) is a Political party active in Ireland The Progressive Democrats (An Páirtí Daonlathach lit The Democratic Party) commonly called The PDs, are a Free market liberal party in Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach shortened to Fianna Fáil ( is currently the largest Political party in the Only Sinn Féin, the party that stood to gain most from the proposal, supported it, while the more moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) described it as a step forward. The Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP; Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre is one of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland [4] The proposal was also criticised widely in the media, with editorials and/or columns published criticising the proposal in The Irish Times, the Irish Independent, the Irish Examiner, the Sunday Independent and other publications[5] Only the republican-leaning Daily Ireland supported the proposal fully. The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s. The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest selling daily newspaper The Irish Examiner (Formerly Cork Examiner, The Examiner) is an Irish national daily Newspaper which primarily circulates in The Sunday Independent is a Broadsheet Sunday Newspaper published in the Republic of Ireland by Independent News and Media plc Daily Ireland was an Irish daily newspaper which existed from January 2005 to September 2006 to cover news stories from an Irish republican viewpoint

Footnotes

  1. ^ The term "National Parliament" appears in Article 15 of the Constitution of Ireland; it is a description of the role of the Oireachtas, rather than an alternative official title. The Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann came into force on 29 December 1937 after having been passed by a national plebiscite the previous July
  2. ^ Oireachtas website: Parliamentary Televising
  3. ^ See De Valera Long Fellow Long Shadow, Tim Pat Coogan, Hutchinson, 1993.
  4. ^ See Irish Echo article.
  5. ^ Ibid.

See also

External links

ga '''Dáil Éireann''' ( English House of Representatives of Ireland) is the principal chamber of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament Seanad Éireann (ɕan̪ˠad̪ˠ erʲan̪ˠ English Senate of Ireland) also known unofficially as the Senate, is the Upper house of the Oireachtas This is a list of Acts of the Oireachtas for the years 1922 to present TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral Irish Competition Law is the Irish body of legal rules designed to ensure fairness and freedom in the Marketplace.
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