The Taoiseach [2] 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 the Oireachtas (parliament), and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.[nb 2] The current Taoiseach is Enda Kenny, TD, who was appointed on 9 March 2011.
The word means "chief" in the Irish language. The earliest known use of the term is from a 5th- or 6th-century ogham inscription in both the Gaelic and Brittonic languages.[3]
Contents
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Overview 1
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History 2
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Origins and etymology 2.1
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Debate on the title 2.2
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Modern office 2.3
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List of office holders 3
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President of the Executive Council 3.1
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Taoiseach 3.2
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Living former officeholders 4
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See also 5
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Notes 6
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References 7
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Further reading 8
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External links 9
Overview
Under the Constitution of Ireland, the Taoiseach must be appointed from among the members of Dáil Éireann. He is nominated by a simple majority of the chamber's members, and formally appointed to office by the President. Since the President is required to appoint whomever the Dáil nominates without the right to decline appointment, it is often said that the Taoiseach is "elected" by the Dáil.
In the event that the Taoiseach loses the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann, he is not automatically removed from office but, rather, is compelled to either resign or 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 and 1994 and twice in 1982). 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.[4] 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.
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 advise the President to dismiss cabinet ministers from office, advice the President is required to follow by convention. He or she is further responsible for appointing eleven members of the Seanad.
The Department of the Taoiseach is the government department which supports and advises the Taoiseach in carrying out his various duties.
Salary
The Taoiseach's annual salary is €185,350 since 2013.[1] It was cut from €214,187 to €200,000 when Kenny took office, before being cut further to €185,350 under the Haddington Road Agreement in 2013.
A proposed increase of €38,000 in 2007 was deferred when Brian Cowen became Taoiseach[5] and in October 2008, the government announced a 10% salary cut for all ministers, including the Taoiseach.[6] However this was a voluntary cut and the salaries remained nominally the same with ministers and Taoiseach essentially refusing 10% of their salary. This courted controversy in December 2009 when a salary cut of 20% was based on the higher figure before the refused amount was deducted.[7] The Taoiseach is also allowed an additional €118,981 in annual expenses.
Residence
There is no official residence of the Taoiseach. However, in 2008 it was reported speculatively that the former Steward's Lodge at Farmleigh adjoining the Phoenix Park would become the official residence of the Taoiseach, however no official statements were made nor any action taken.[8] The house, which forms part of the Farmleigh estate acquired by the State in 1999 for €29.2m, was renovated at a cost of nearly €600,000 in 2005 by the Office of Public Works. Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern did not use it as a residence, but his successor Brian Cowen used it "from time to time".[9]
History
Origins and etymology
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",[nb 2] its literal translation is chieftain or leader.[10] Tánaiste in turn refers to the system of tanistry, the Gaelic system of succession whereby a leader would appoint an heir apparent while still living.
In Scottish Gaelic, tòiseach translates as clan chief and both words originally had similar meaning in the Gaelic languages of Scotland and Ireland.[11][12][13][14] The related Welsh language word tywysog (current meaning: prince) has a similar origin and meaning.[3] Both derive ultimately from the proto-Celtic *towissākos "chieftain, leader".
The plural of taoiseach is taoisigh (Irish: or ).[10]
Debate on the title
In 1937 when the draft Constitution of Ireland was being debated in the Dáil, an opposition politician moved an amendment to substitute the proposed “Taoiseach” title for “Prime Minister” in the English text of the Constitution. It was proposed to keep “Taoiseach” title in the Irish language text. The proponent remarked:[15]
It seems to me to be mere make-believe to try to incorporate a word like “Taoiseach” in the English language. It would be pronounced wrongly by 99 per cent. of the people. I have already ascertained it is a very difficult word to pronounce correctly. That being so, even for the sake of the dignity of the Irish language, it would be more sensible that when speaking English we should be allowed to refer to the gentleman in question as the “Prime Minister... It is just one more example of the sort of things that are being done here as if for the purpose of putting off the people in the North. No useful purpose of any kind can be served by compelling us, when speaking English, to refer to the “Taoiseach” rather than to the “Prime Minister.”
The President of the Executive Council, Éamon de Valera gave the term’s meaning as “Chieftain” or “Captain”. He said he was “not disposed” to support the proposed amendment and felt “the word “Taoiseach” does not require to be altered.” The proposed amendment was defeated on a vote and “Taoiseach” was included as the title ultimately adopted by plebiscite of the people.[16]
Modern office
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 chairman of the cabinet, the Executive Council. For example, the President of the Executive Council could not dismiss a fellow minister. Instead, 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 ask the Governor-General to dissolve Dáil Éireann, that power belonging collectively to the Executive Council.
In contrast, the Taoiseach created in 1937 possesses a much more powerful role. He can both advise the President to dismiss ministers and dissolve Parliament on his own authority—advice that the President is almost always required to follow by convention.[17] His role is greatly enhanced because under the Constitution, he is both de jure and de facto chief executive, since the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Government. In most other parliamentary democracies, the head of state is at least the nominal chief executive.
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 was not 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 office holders
Before 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 nGaedheal from 1922–32, and then by Éamon de Valera from 1932–37. By convention, Taoisigh are numbered to include Cosgrave,[18][19][20][21] for example Enda Kenny is considered the 13th Taoiseach, not the 12th.
Living former officeholders
As of August 2014, there are four living former taoisigh:
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Taoiseach
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Term of office
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Date of birth
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Liam Cosgrave
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1973–1977
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(1920-04-13) 13 April 1920
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John Bruton
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1994–1997
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(1947-05-18) 18 May 1947
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Bertie Ahern
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1997–2008
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(1951-09-12) 12 September 1951
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Brian Cowen
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2008–2011
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(1960-01-10) 10 January 1960
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See also
Notes
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^ a b Before the enactment of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, the head of government was referred to as the President of the Executive Council. This office was first held by W. T. Cosgrave from 1922–32, and then by Éamon de Valera from 1932–37.
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^ a b Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1° of the Constitution of Ireland. The latter provision reads: "The head of the Government, or Prime Minister, shall be called, and is in this Constitution referred to as, the Taoiseach." [1]
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^ a b The last office held, excluding the office of Teachta Dála.
References
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^ a b "The Taoiseach, Ministers and every TD are having their pay cut today". TheJournal.ie. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
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^ "Taoiseach: definition of Taoiseach in Oxford dictionary (British & World English). Meaning, pronunciation and origin of the word". Oxford Language Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
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^ a b John Thomas Koch (2006), Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, p. 1062,
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^ One example of the Dáil refusing supply occurred in January 1982 when the then Fine Gael – Labour Party coalition government of Garret FitzGerald lost a vote on the budget. [2]
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^ "Taoiseach to receive €38k pay rise".
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^ "Sharp exchanges in Dáil over Budget".
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^ "Opposition says Lenihan's salary cuts do not add up".
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^ "'"Opulent Phoenix Park lodge is set to become 'Fortress Cowen.
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^ "Cowen questioned on use of Farmleigh".
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^ a b "Youth Zone School Pack".
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^ John Frederick Vaughan Campbell Cawdor (1742). Innes Cosmo, ed. The book of the thanes of Cawdor: a series of papers selected from the charter room at Cawdor. 1236–1742, Volume 1236, Issue 1742.
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^ E. William Robertson (2004). Scotland Under Her Early Kings: A History of the Kingdom to the Close of the Thirteenth Century Part One.
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^ "DSL - SND1 TOISEACH". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
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^ "Tartan Details - Toshach".
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^ Frank Mr. MacDermot of the Centre Party (Ireland) - Bunreacht na hEireann (Dréacht)—Coiste (Ath-thógaint) - Wednesday, 26 May 1937; Dáil Éireann Debate Vol. 67 No. 9.
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^ - Bunreacht na hEireann (Dréacht)—Coiste (Ath-thógaint) - Wednesday, 26 May 1937; Dáil Éireann Debate Vol. 67 No. 9.
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^ Among the most famous ministerial dismissals have been those of Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney during the Arms Crisis in 1970, Brian Lenihan in 1990 and Albert Reynolds, Pádraig Flynn and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn in 1991.
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^ "Coughlan new Tánaiste in Cowen Cabinet".
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^ "Taoiseach reveals new front bench".
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^ "Cowen confirmed as Taoiseach". BreakingNews.ie. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
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^ "Former Taoisigh". Department of the Taoiseach. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
Further reading
The book Chairman or Chief: The Role of the Taoiseach in Irish Government (1971) by Brian Farrell provides a good overview of the conflicting roles for the Taoiseach. Though long out of print, it may still be available in libraries or from AbeBooks. Biographies are also available of de Valera, Lemass, Lynch, Cosgrave, FitzGerald, Haughey, Reynolds and Ahern. FitzGerald wrote an autobiography, while an authorised biography was produced of de Valera.
Biographies
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Some biographies of former Taoisigh and Presidents of the Executive Council
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Tim Pat Coogan, Éamon de Valera
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John Horgan, Seán Lemass
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Brian Farrell, Seán Lemass
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T. P. O'Mahony, Jack Lynch: A Biography
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T. Ryle Dwyer, Nice Fellow: A Biography of Jack Lynch
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Stephen Collins, The Cosgrave legacy
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Garret FitzGerald, All in a Life
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Garret FitzGerald, "Just Garret: Tales from the Political Frontline"
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Raymond Smith, Garret: The Enigma
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T. Ryle Dwyer, Short Fellow: A Biography of Charles Haughey
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Martin Mansergh, Spirit of the Nation: The Collected Speeches of Haughey
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Joe Joyce & Peter Murtagh The Boss: Charles Haughey in Government
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Tim Ryan, Albert Reynolds: The Longford Leader
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Albert Reynolds, My Autobiography
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Bertie Ahern, My Autobiography
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