Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (/ˈɛrəktəs/ EH-rək-təs,[2] Irish: [ˈɛɾʲaxt̪ˠəsˠ]), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland.[3] The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (Irish: Tithe an Oireachtais),[4] a house of representatives called Dáil Éireann and a senate called Seanad Éireann.
This article is about the modern legislature. For alternative meanings, see Oireachtas (disambiguation) and Irish parliament (disambiguation).
Oireachtas
29 December 1937 (Modern form)
- Dáil Éireann: 160
- Seanad Éireann: 60
Government (80)
- Fianna Fáil (36)
- Fine Gael (33)
- Green Party (11)
Opposition (78)
- Sinn Féin (36)
- Labour Party (7)
- Social Democrats (6)
- PBP–S (5)
- Ind. Ireland (3)
- Aontú (1)
- RTOC (1)[1]
- Independent (20)
- Ceann Comhairle
- (1)
Government (42)
- Fianna Fáil (21)
- Fine Gael (16)
- Green Party (5)
Opposition (19)
- Labour Party (4)
- Sinn Féin (3)
- Human Dignity Alliance (1)
- Independent (9)
- Vacant (1)
- Agriculture, Food and the Marine
- Autism
- Children, Disability, Equality, Integration, and Youth
- Disability Matters
- Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science
- Enterprise, Trade and Employment
- Environment and Climate Action
- European Union Affairs
- Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
- Foreign Affairs and Defence
- Gender Equality
- Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement
- Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community
- Health
- Housing, Local Government and Heritage
- Justice
- Public Petitions
- Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands
- Transport and Communications
- Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media
Not exceeding 5 years
The houses of the Oireachtas sit in Leinster House in Dublin, an eighteenth-century ducal palace. The directly elected Dáil is by far the more powerful branch of the Oireachtas.
Etymology[edit]
The word oireachtas comes from the Irish word airecht/oireacht ("deliberative assembly of freemen; assembled freemen; assembly, gathering; patrimony, territory"), ultimately from the word airig ("freeman").[5] Its first recorded use as the name of a legislative body was within the Irish Free State.
Composition[edit]
Dáil Éireann is directly elected under universal suffrage of all Irish citizens who are residents and at least eighteen years old; non-Irish citizens may be enfranchised by law, which currently extends to British citizens. By law, a Dáil term may last no longer than five years; however, the house can be dissolved by the president at any time at the request of the Taoiseach (head of government). Dáil elections use the electoral system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The Dáil has 160 members.
The Seanad is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members selected in a number of different ways. There are 60 senators: 43 are elected by councillors and parliamentarians, 11 are appointed by the Taoiseach, and six are elected by two university constituencies.
The president is directly elected once every seven years, and may serve a maximum of two terms; where there is only one candidate for president, no ballot will be taken, and the candidate will be deemed elected at the close of nominations.
The Oireachtas has a number of joint committees that include members of both houses. There are currently fifteen of these:
Northern Ireland representation[edit]
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"[19] Acts of the Oireachtas would not apply to Northern Ireland. 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, and 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 or responsibility".[20] Beginning with Seamus Mallon in 1982, one or more from Northern Ireland have been included among the eleven Senators nominated by the Taoiseach after most elections.
Sinn Féin has advocated that Northern Ireland MLAs, MPs, and MEPs should have the right to participate in Dáil debates, if not vote. In 2005 the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, proposed that Northern Ireland MPs should be able to address a committee of the whole Dáil. However, Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and Ahern's coalition partners, the Progressive Democrats, all opposed the idea,[21] as did the Green Party, the Socialist Party and some Oireachtas members from Fianna Fáil.[22] 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.[23] The proposal was also criticised widely in the media, with an editorial in The Irish Times, declaring that: "The overwhelming democratic imperative is that the institutions of this State should represent and serve the people of the State."[21] From 2011, Northern Ireland MEPs had the same automatic right as MEPs from the Republic to participate in meetings of the Seanad's European committee, whereas other MEPs require an invitation.[24] This ended in 2020 when the United Kingdom left the EU, which consequently meant all UK MEPs left office.
Houses of the Oireachtas Commission[edit]
While each house is empowered to organise its own business, they have always co-operated in practical matters arising from the fact that they share Leinster House as a common building complex. The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission was established by statute in 2003 to provide a formal structure for this, which was previously done by a joint committee. Non-political support staff, such as ushers and the English–Irish translation staff, are employed by this Commission and treated as part of the Civil Service of the State. The Commission's chairperson and chief executive are the Ceann Comhairle and clerk of the Dáil respectively; other members are the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, one appointed by the Minister for Finance, four by the Dáil, and three by the Seanad.[25][26] The Commission, through the translation department, is responsible for periodic updates to An Caighdeán Oifigiúil, the official standard form of the Irish language.[27]