Politics of the Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland is a sovereign state with a representative democracy with a parliamentary system with a President, Prime Minister and Parliament. The capital is Dublin and Ireland is part of the European Union and the euro zone. The two largest parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

State

Constitution

The Constitution, officially called na hÉireann Bunreacht, is the supreme legislative level in Ireland and liberal democratic pronounced. In it, the government organs are defined, they granted the fundamental rights. The Constitution can be changed by constitutional amendment must be voted on by referendum.

Head of state

The President ( Uachtarán ) held the highest office in Ireland, is the de facto head of state and has, in addition to some exclusive rights, largely ceremonial functions. The president is elected by direct and secret ballot by the people, the candidates are proposed by the parties. The term of office is seven years, a maximum of two terms are allowed.

Executive

The executive power is exercised by the Cabinet ( government). The Government consists of the Prime Minister ( Taoiseach ), the Deputy Prime Minister ( Tánaiste ) and up to 13 other ministers and is de jure collective Head of State. The Taoiseach is appointed by the Dáil and used by the president. The other ministers are nominated by the Taoiseach and accepted by the Dáil (or not ). The government needs the confidence of the Dáil Éireann - they should not have it, the Taoiseach must either resign or request the President to dissolve the Dáil, which has an election result.

Legislature

The Parliament of the Republic of Ireland, the Oireachtas. It consists of the Irish President and the two houses Dáil Éireann ( House of Representatives, the lower house ) and Seanad Éireann (Senate, House of Lords ). The Dáil is the dominant part of the legislature, as the President ( almost ) not veto against legislative proposals and the Senate only postpone laws, but can not refuse.

The Dáil is at least directly elected under the system of single transferable vote every 5 years. Since the 1990s, there was no Dail Einparteienmehrheit so that coalition governments are now common.

The Senate is a largely consultative body, and consists of 60 members: 11 by the Taoiseach, 6 by national universities and 43 determined by various electoral lists. The Senate bills can only defer up to 90 days, but not refuse.

Judiciary

The court system in Ireland consists of the Supreme Court, the High Court and various lower courts. Judges are nominated by the government, set up by the Irish president and can be dismissed only for serious misconduct of their duties.

County government (local government)

The district administration in Ireland is regulated by the Local Government Act of 2001, which introduced a two-layer structure.

The top layer consists of 29 county councils (county councils). 24 of 26 ( traditional ) counties in Ireland have one, Dublin has three ( Fingal, South Dublin and Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown ) and two Tipperary ( North and South Tipperary ) of such councils. Then there are the city councils (city councils) of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, which are the county councils assimilated.

The second layer consists of the town councils (local councils). The city councils of Kilkenny and Sligo, Drogheda, Clonmel, and Wexford may the title of borough council ( county council ) instead of town council wear, but otherwise have no further powers.

The various county governments have their responsibilities, for example in the areas of planning, roads, sanitation and Libraries Division. Each Council has an official chairman ( chief executive of the council), who is also a civil servant who is employed by the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commission. The Irish Minister for the Environment, Heritage and county government (Irish Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government ) is responsible for the local administrations and accompanying tasks.

After the abolition of property taxes in the late 1970s it became increasingly difficult for the councils to get funding so that charges levied on water and waste, but which were not paid in some areas in a big way. Therefore, the Councils are heavily dependent on the financial support of the government, which led to a highly centralized system of local governments.

North-South Ministerial

Under the Good Friday Agreement and Article 3 of the Constitution coordinate a North-South Ministerial (North - South Ministerial Council ) and 6 North-South implementation bodies, the joint activities of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and have limited executive power on the entire island. The persistence of this Council is currently uncertain.

Parties

A number of political parties are represented in Dáil and coalition governments are common since the 1990s. Neither of the two largest parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is characterized on the right-left division. Third largest party, the center-left Labour Party. Also leftist are the Greens, Sinn Féin, the Communist Party of Ireland, the Workers Party and the Socialist Party. The Progressive Democrats, a liberal party was dissolved on 8 November 2008. In addition to these parties and independent candidates play a major role in Irish politics.

Current Government ( 2011 election )

In Ireland there is currently a coalition of two parties: Fine Gael (76 deputies) and Labour Party (37 MPs). The Cabinet of Prime Minister Enda Kenny was sworn in on 9 March 2011.

  • Taoiseach (Prime Minister) - Enda Kenny (FG)
  • Foreign and Trade Minister and Tánaiste ( Deputy Prime Minister ) - Eamon Gilmore (L )
  • Agriculture and Minister of the Navy - Simon Coveney (FG)
  • Minister for Arts and Gaeltacht - Jimmy Deenihan (FG)
  • Minister for Children and Youth Affairs - Frances Fitzgerald ( FG)
  • Energy Secretary - Pat Rabbitte (L )
  • Minister of Education - Ruairí Quinn ( L)
  • Minister for Enterprise and Work - Richard Bruton (FG)
  • Environment Minister - Phil Hogan (FG)
  • Finance - Michael Noonan (FG)
  • Health Minister - James Reilly (FG)
  • Justice and Defense - Alan Shatter (FG)
  • Minister for public expenditure and reform - Brendan Howlin (L )
  • Social Affairs - Joan Burton (L )
  • Transport and Tourism Minister - Leo Varadkar (FG)
655153
de