31st Dáil
The Dáil, or Dáil Éireann (pronouned [d̪ˠaːlʲ ˈeːrʲən̪ˠ]), is the lower house of the Irish bicameral parliament. The upper house, the Senate, or Seanad Éireann (ɕan̪ˠad̪ˠ e:rʲan̪ˠ) and the Dáil together form the parliament, known as the Oireachtas (ɛrʲaxt̪ˠasˠ). The "31st Dáil" is so called because it will be the 31st to sit since the foundation of the state.
Dáil Éireann (usually just called "the Dáil") has 166 members or Teachtaí Dálaí ("Teachta Dála", pronounced ˈtʲaxtə ˈdɑːlə, is the singular form, abbreviated to "TD"), each elected to represent one of 43 multi-seat constituencies under the system of proportional representation by means of the Single Transferable Vote.
Under the constitution, parliamentary elections must be held at least every seven years, though a lower limit may be set by statute law. The current statutory maximum term is every five years.
The government in the 30th Dáil consisted of a coalition of two parties: Fianna Fáil under Taoiseach Brian Cowen; and the Green Party. The main opposition parties in the 30th Dáil consisted of Fine Gael and Labour. The general election for the 165 seats available (the speaker, or Ceann Comhairle, is returned automatically) took place on Friday, 25th February, 2011, with the count of ballots beginning the following day.
Pre-election alliances
There were no pre-election pacts declared between the main parties. The Socialist Party, members of the People Before Profit alliance and some independent candidates announced the formation of the United Left Alliance in the weeks before the election.
Results
The general election saw a massive swing against the sitting government parties - Fianna Fáil fell to it's smallest representation ever.
Individually significant results included:
The Green Party lost all of their seats. Several sitting ministers also failed to win re-election, and Fianna Fáil managed to return only one TD in the whole of Dublin (outgoing Finance Minister Brian Lenihan).
Constituencies
|
Constituency |
Number of seats (2011) |
Result 2011 (change from 2007 in brackets) |
|||||||
|
FF |
FG |
Lab. |
PD |
SF |
Grn |
Soc. |
Other |
||
| Carlow-Kilkenny |
5 |
1 (-2) |
3 (+2) |
1 (+1) |
0 (-1) |
||||
| Cavan-Monaghan |
5[1] |
1 (-2) |
3 (+2) |
1 (0) |
|||||
| Clare |
4 |
1 (-1) |
2 |
1 (+1) |
|||||
| Cork East |
4 |
0 (-2) |
2 (+1) |
1 |
1 (+1) |
||||
| Cork North Central |
4 |
1 (-1) |
1 |
1 |
1 (+1) |
||||
| Cork North West |
3 |
1 (-1) |
2 (+1) |
||||||
| Cork South Central |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|||||
| Cork South West |
3 |
0 (-1) |
2 |
1 (+1) |
|||||
| Donegal North East |
3 |
1 (-1) |
1 |
1 (+1) |
|||||
| Donegal South West |
3 |
0 (-2) |
1 |
1 (+1)[2] |
1 (+1) |
||||
| Dublin Central |
4 |
0 (-2) |
1 (+1) |
1 |
1 (+1) |
1 |
|||
| Dublin Mid West |
4 |
0 (-1) |
2 (+2) |
2 (+1) |
0[3] |
0 (-1) |
|||
| Dublin North |
4 |
0 (-2) |
2 (+1) |
1 (+1) |
0 (-1) |
1 (+1) |
|||
| Dublin North Central |
3 |
0 (-1) |
1 |
1 (+1) |
1 |
||||
| Dublin North East |
3 |
0 (-1) |
1 |
2 (+1) |
|||||
| Dublin North West |
3 |
0 (-2) |
2 (+1) |
1 (+1) |
|||||
| Dublin South |
5 |
0 (-2) |
3 (+1) |
1 (+1) |
0 (-1) |
||||
| Dublin South Central |
5 |
0 (-2) |
1 |
2 (+1) |
1 |
1 (+1) |
|||
| Dublin South East |
4 |
0 (-1) |
2 (+1) |
2 (+1) |
0 (-1) |
||||
| Dublin South West |
4 |
0 (-2) |
1 |
2 (+1) |
1 (+1) |
||||
| Dublin West |
4 (+1) |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 (+1) |
||||
| Dún Laoghaire |
4 (-1) |
0 (-2) |
2 (+1) |
1 |
0 (-1) |
1 (+1) |
|||
| Galway East |
4 |
1 (-1) |
2 |
1 (+1) |
|||||
| Galway West |
5 |
1 (-1) |
2 (+1) |
1 |
0[4] |
1[4] |
|||
| Kerry North-Limerick West[5] |
3 |
0 (-1) |
1 |
1 (+1) |
1 |
||||
| Kerry South |
3 |
0 (-2) |
1 (+1) |
2 (+1) |
|||||
| Kildare North |
4 |
0 (-2) |
2 (+1) |
1 |
1 (+1) |
||||
| Kildare South |
3 |
1 (-1) |
1 (+1) |
1 |
|||||
| Laois-Offaly |
5 |
2 (-1) |
2 |
1 (+1) |
|||||
| Limerick City[6] |
4 (-1) |
1 (-1) |
2 |
1 |
|||||
| Limerick[7] |
3 |
1 (-1) |
2 (+1) |
||||||
| Longford-Westmeath |
4 |
1 (-1) |
2 (+1) |
1 |
|||||
| Louth |
5 (+1)[8] |
1 (-1) |
2 (+1) |
1 (+1) |
1 |
||||
| Mayo |
5 |
1 |
4 (+1) |
||||||
| Meath East |
3 |
0 (-2) |
2 (+1) |
1 (+1) |
|||||
| Meath West |
3 |
0 (-2) |
2 (+1) |
1 (+1) |
|||||
| Roscommon-South Leitrim |
3 |
0 (-1) |
2 |
1 (+1) |
|||||
| Sligo-North Leitrim |
3 |
0 (-2) |
2 (+1) |
1 (+1) |
|||||
| Tipperary North |
3 |
0 (-1) |
1 |
1 (+1) |
1 |
||||
| Tipperary South |
3 |
0 (-2) |
1 |
2 (+2)[10] |
|||||
| Waterford |
4 |
0 (-2) |
2 (+1) |
1 |
1 (+1) |
||||
| Wexford |
5 |
1 (-1) |
2 |
1 |
1 (+1) |
||||
| Wicklow |
5 |
0 (-2) |
3 (+1) |
1 |
1 (+1) |
||||
|
Totals |
166 |
78 |
51 |
20 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
5 |
Key:
FF: Fianna Fáil
FG: Fine Gael
Lab.: Labour
PD: Progressive Democrats
SF: Sinn Féin
Grn.: Green Party
Soc.: Socialist Party
Other: Independents and/or members of small parties not listed above.
Composition of the Dáil
| Party | May 2007 (elected to 30th Dáil) |
At dissolution of 30th Dáil | Elected to 31st Dáil |
| Fianna Fáil | 78 | 72 | 20 |
| Fine Gael | 51 | 51 | 75 |
| Labour Party | 20 | 20 | 37 |
| Progressive Democrats | 2 | 0[11] | n/a |
| Green Party | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Sinn Féin | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| Socialist | 0 | 0 | 2[12] |
| Independents | 5 | 5 | 15 |
Formation of government
The 31st Dáil sat for the first time on 9th March, 2011. Enda Kenny, leader of Fine Gael, was elected as Taoiseach.
Cabinet
After travelling to Áras an Uactaráin to receive his Seal of Office from the President, Ahern returned to the Dáil to announce his cabinet. The appointments (listed with previous incumbents and subsequent appointments following Ahern's resignation in May 2008) are as follows:
| Cabinet position | 29th Dáil (at dissolution) |
30th Dáil (new appointment)(member of Fianna Fáil unless indicated otherwise) |
30th Dáil (current) |
| Taoiseach | Bertie Ahern | Bertie Ahern | Brian Cowen |
| Tánaiste | Michael McDowell | Brian Cowen | Mary Coughlan |
| Minister for Finance | Brian Cowen | Brian Cowen | Brian Lenihan |
| Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform | Michael McDowell | Brian Lenihan | Dermot Ahern |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | Dermot Ahern | Dermot Ahern | Micheál Martin |
| Minister for Health and Children | Mary Harney | Mary Harney (PD) | Mary Harney (Independent) |
| Minister for Defence | Willie O Dea | Willie O Dea | Willie O Dea |
| Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism | John O Donoghue | Séamus Brennan | Martin Cullen |
| Minister for Education and Science | Mary Hanafin | Mary Hanafin | Batt O'Keeffe |
| Minister for Agriculture Fisheries and Food | Mary Coughlan | Mary Coughlan | Brendan Smith |
| Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government | Dick Roche | John Gormley (Grn.) | John Gormley (Grn.) |
| Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs | Éamon Ó Cuív | Éamon Ó Cuív | Éamon Ó Cuív |
| Minister for Social and Family Affairs | Séamus Brennan | Martin Cullen | Mary Hanafin |
| Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment | Micheál Martin | Micheál Martin | Mary Coughlan |
| Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources | Noel Dempsey | Eamon Ryan (Grn.) | Eamon Ryan (Grn.) |
| Minister for Transport and the Marine | Martin Cullen | Noel Dempsey | Noel Dempsey |
| Attorney General | Rory Brady SC | Paul Gallagher SC (unaffiliated) | Paul Gallagher SC (unaffiliated) |
See also
References
- ↑ Includes the seat of the then Ceann Comhairle, Rory O Hanlon, who by virtue of his office was returned automatically to the Dáil without having to seek re-election.
- ↑ Pearse Doherty had first won his seat for SF in the by-election of November 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mary Harney was elected in 2007 on a Progressive Democrat ticket. They disbanded in 2009 and Harney sat in Cabinet as an independent.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Noel Grealish was elected in 2007 on a Progressive Democrat ticket. The party disbanded in 2009 and Grealish remained in the Dáil as an independent.
- ↑ There was a substantial boundary change from the 2007 election. The comparison is with the 2007 Kerry North constituency.
- ↑ Substantial boundary changes from the 2007 general election. The comparison figures refer to the 2007 Limerick East constituency.
- ↑ Substantial boundary changes from the 2007 general election. The comparison figures refer to the 2007 Limerick West constituency.
- ↑ Includes the seat of Séamus Kirk (FF), the outgoing Ceann Comhairle, who is returned automatically.
- ↑ Beverley Flynn had rejoined Fianna Fáil.
- ↑ Mattie McGrath had been elected on a Fianna Fáil ticket in 2007. He resigned from the party in 2010 and was elected as an independent.
- ↑ The PDs disbanded. Mary Harney remained in the cabinet as Minister for Health, until her resignation in January 2011; Noel Grealish remained an independent TD and normally supported the government.
- ↑ The Socialist Party returned two TDs, Joe Higgins and Clare Daly. However, they ran under the banner of the United Left Alliance, who in total succeeded in having five TDs elected. The remaining three TDs are included in the total for independents.