Everything about The Taoiseach totally explained
The
Taoiseach (in English and (plural
Taoisigh ([t̪ˠiːʃʲɪj] or [t̪ˠiːʃʲɪɟ]) in
Irish), also referred to as
An Taoiseach ([ənt̪ˠiːʃʲəx]), is the
head of government or
prime minister of
Ireland.
The Taoiseach is appointed by the
President upon the nomination of
Dáil Éireann (the lower house of
Oireachtas), and must, while they remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil. The current Taoiseach is
Brian Cowen,
TD, leader of the
Fianna Fáil party.
Overview
Under the
Constitution of Ireland the Taoiseach must be appointed from among the members of Dáil Éireann. In the event that the Taoiseach loses the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann, he isn't automatically removed from office but, rather, is compelled
either to resign
or to persuade the President to dissolve the Dáil. The President may refuse to grant a dissolution, and, in effect, force the Taoiseach to resign, but, to date, no president has exercised this prerogative (though the option arose in 1944, twice in 1982 and would have arisen in 1994 had Albert Reynolds chosen, following his Dáil defeat, to seek a dissolution rather than resign). The Taoiseach may lose the support of Dáil Éireann by the passage of a
vote of no confidence, the failure of a vote of confidence or, alternatively, the Dáil may refuse
supply. In the event of the Taoiseach's resignation, he continues to exercise the duties and functions of his office until the appointment of a successor.
See Phantom Taoiseach.
The Taoiseach nominates the remaining members of the
Government, who are then, with the consent of the Dáil, appointed by the President. The Taoiseach also has authority to have fellow members of the cabinet dismissed from office. He or she's further responsible for appointing eleven members of the
Senate.
Salary
The Taoiseach's salary is considerably higher than for leaders in many other countries; €310,000 annually compared to £127,000 (~€160,000) for the
British Prime Minister, $400,000 (~€260,000) for the
President of the United States and €228,000 for the
President of France. As of October 2007, the Taoiseach is the highest-paid head of government in the
OECD countries. However, the remuneration structures for
Irish government employees mean that comparison with other countries are not useful and are discouraged by the
Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector. For example, the President of the United States and the British Prime Minister are supplied with residences. However, it has been reported that former Steward's Lodge at
Farmleigh in the
Phoenix Park will shortly be made into the official
residence of the Taoiseach.
History
The words
Taoiseach and
Tánaiste (the title of the deputy prime minister) are both from the
Irish language and of ancient origin. Though the Taoiseach is described in the Constitution of Ireland as "the head of the Government or Prime Minister", its literal translation is "leader" or "chief". Some historians suggest that in
ancient Ireland (where these terms originate), a
taoiseach was a minor king, while a
tánaiste was a governor placed in a kingdom whose king had been deposed or, more usually, his heir-apparent. In
Scottish Gaelic,
tòiseach translates as
clan chief and both words originally had similar meaning in the
Gaelic languages of Scotland and Ireland. The related
Welsh language word
tywysog (current meaning "prince" — from
tywys, "to lead") appears to have had a similar meaning.
The modern position of Taoiseach was established by the 1937
Constitution of Ireland, to replace the position of
President of the Executive Council of the 1922–1937
Irish Free State. The positions of Taoiseach and President of the Executive Council differed in certain fundamental respects. Under the
Constitution of the Irish Free State the latter was vested with considerably less power and was largely just the cabinet's presiding officer. For example, the President of the Executive Council couldn't dismiss a fellow minister. The Free State's cabinet, the
Executive Council had to be disbanded and reformed entirely, in order to remove one of its number. The President of the Executive Council could also not personally seek a dissolution of Dáil Éireann from the head of state, that power belonging collectively to the Executive Council. In contrast, the Taoiseach created in 1937 possesses a much more powerful role. He can both instruct the President to dismiss ministers, and request a parliamentary dissolution on his own initiative.
Historically, where there have been multi-party or coalition governments, the Taoiseach has come from the leader of the largest party in the coalition. One exception to this was
John A. Costello, who wasn't leader of his party, but an agreed choice to head the government, because the other parties refused to accept then
Fine Gael leader
Richard Mulcahy as Taoiseach.
List of Taoisigh
Main articles: List of Irish heads of government since 1919, List of Taoisigh by important facts
Prior to the enactment of the
1937 Constitution, the head of government was referred to as the
President of the Executive Council. This office was first held by
W. T. Cosgrave of
Cumann na nGaedhael from 1922–32, and then by
Éamon de Valera from 1932–37. By convention Taoisigh are numbered to include Cosgrave, for example Brian Cowen is considered the 12th Taoiseach not the 11th.
President of the Executive Council
Taoiseach
Living former Taoisigh
There have never been more than six former Taoisigh alive at any one time.
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Taoiseach'.
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