Taoiseach

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Taoiseach of Ireland
Coat of arms of Ireland
Incumbent Brian Cowen since 7 May 2008
Appointer	Mary McAleese as President
Term length	General elections are held every five years at a maximum, but may be held sooner. No term limits are imposed on the office.
Inaugural holder	Éamon de Valera[1]
Formation	29 December 1937[1]
Website	www.taoiseach.gov.ie

Republic of Ireland

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The Taoiseach (pronounced /ˈtiːʃəx/^[2]; Irish pronunciation: [t̪ˠiːʃəx]), plural Taoisigh ([t̪ˠiːʃiː] or [t̪ˠiːʃəɟ]), also referred to as An Taoiseach ([ən t̪ˠiːʃəx]),^[3] is the head of government of Ireland.

The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas), and must, while he remains in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil. The role of Taoiseach is that of a prime minister.^[4]

The current Taoiseach is Brian Cowen, TD, leader of the Fianna Fáil party.

[edit] 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 is not 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^{[citation needed]}). 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.^[5] 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 have fellow members of the cabinet dismissed from office. He or she is further responsible for appointing eleven members of the Senate.

[edit] Salary

The Taoiseach's salary is somewhat higher than for leaders in many other countries: €257,024 annually,^[6] compared to £187,000 (about €202,000) for the British Prime Minister and €231,000 for the President of France. In October 2007, the Taoiseach was the highest-paid head of government in the OECD countries.^[7] However, the remuneration structures for Government of Ireland employees mean that comparison with other countries are not useful and are discouraged by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector.^[8] A proposed increase of €38,000 in 2007, was deferred when Brian Cowen became Taoiseach^[9] and in October 2008, the government announced a 10% salary cut for all ministers, including the Taoiseach.^[10]

[edit] Residence

In 2008 it was reported that the former Steward's Lodge at Farmleigh adjoining the Phoenix Park would become the official residence of the Taoiseach.^[11] The house was renovated, at a cost of nearly €600,000 by the Office of Public Works in 2005. Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern did not use it as a residence, however the current Taoiseach Brian Cowen, uses it "from time to time".^[12]

[edit] History

Department of the Taoiseach at Government Buildings, Merrion Square, Dublin

[edit] 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",^[4] its literal translation is "Chieftain" or "Leader".^[13] 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.

[edit] 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 cabinet's presiding officer. For example, the President of the Executive Council could not 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.^[14]

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.

[edit] List of office holders

Main articles: List of Irish heads of government since 1919, List of Taoisigh by important facts

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 nGaedhael from 1922–32, and then by Éamon de Valera from 1932–37. By convention Taoisigh are numbered to include Cosgrave,^{[15][16][17][18]} for example Brian Cowen is considered the 12th Taoiseach not the 11th.

[edit] President of the Executive Council

No.		Name	Picture	Entered Office	Left Office	Elected	Party
	1.	W. T. Cosgrave		6 December 1922	9 March 1932	5 terms	Cumann na nGaedhael
	2.	Éamon de Valera		9 March 1932	29 December 1937	3 terms	Fianna Fáil

[edit] Taoiseach

No.		Name	Picture	Entered Office	Left Office	Elected	Period	Party
	2.	Éamon de Valera		29 December 1937	18 February 1948	3 terms	1st time	Fianna Fáil
	3.	John A. Costello		18 February 1948	13 June 1951	1 term	1st time	Fine Gael
		Éamon de Valera		13 June 1951	2 June 1954	1 term	2nd time	Fianna Fáil
		John A. Costello		2 June 1954	20 March 1957	1 term	2nd time	Fine Gael
		Éamon de Valera		20 March 1957	23 June 1959	1 term	3rd time	Fianna Fáil
	4.	Seán Lemass		23 June 1959	10 November 1966	3 terms		Fianna Fáil
	5.	Jack Lynch		10 November 1966	14 March 1973	2 terms	1st time	Fianna Fáil
	6.	Liam Cosgrave		14 March 1973	5 July 1977	1 term		Fine Gael
		Jack Lynch		5 July 1977	11 December 1979	1 term	2nd time	Fianna Fáil
	7.	Charles Haughey		11 December 1979	30 June 1981	1 term	1st time	Fianna Fáil
	8.	Garret FitzGerald		30 June 1981	9 March 1982	1 term	1st time	Fine Gael
		Charles Haughey		9 March 1982	14 December 1982	1 term	2nd time	Fianna Fáil
		Garret FitzGerald		14 December 1982	10 March 1987	1 term	2nd time	Fine Gael
		Charles Haughey		10 March 1987	11 February 1992	2 terms	3rd time	Fianna Fáil
	9.	Albert Reynolds		11 February 1992	15 December 1994	1 term		Fianna Fáil
	10.	John Bruton		15 December 1994	26 June 1997	1 term		Fine Gael
	11.	Bertie Ahern		26 June 1997	6 May 2008	3 terms		Fianna Fáil
	12.	Brian Cowen		7 May 2008	Incumbent	1 term		Fianna Fáil

[edit] Living former Taoisigh

• Liam Cosgrave
• Garret FitzGerald
• Albert Reynolds
• John Bruton
• Bertie Ahern

[edit] References and notes

[edit] See also

• Department of the Taoiseach
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland

[edit] 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.

Some Biographies of former Taoisigh & Presidents of the Executive Council:

• Tim Pat Coogan, Éamon de Valera
• John Horgan, Seán Lemass
• Brian Farrell, Seán Lemass
• T.P. O'Mahony, Jack Lynch: A Biography
• T. Ryle Dwyer, Nice Fellow: A Biography of Jack Lynch
• Stephen Collins, The Cosgrave legacy
• Garret FitzGerald, All in a Life
• Raymond Smith, Garret: The Enigma
• T.Ryle Dwyer, Short Fellow: A Biography of Charles Haughey
• Martin Mansergh, Spirit of the Nation: The Collected Speeches of Haughey
• Joe Joyce & Peter Murtagh The Boss: Charles Haughey in Government
• Tim Ryan, Albert Reynolds: The Longford Leader

[edit] External links

• Official site

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