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Taoiseach

The '''Taoiseach''' ( in EnglishOED; (plural ''Taoisigh'' ( or ) in Irish language|Irish), also referred to as '''An Taoiseach''' (),Retaining the Irish definite article ''an'' instead of English ''the''. is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland|Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President of Ireland|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 current Taoiseach is Brian Cowen, Teachta Dála|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 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). 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 ''Loss of supply|supply''.One example of the Dáil refusing supply occurred in January 1982 when the then Fine Gael–Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party coalition government of Garret FitzGerald lost a vote on the budget.http://www.rte.ie/news/elections2007/history80s.html 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 Irish Government|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 Seanad Éireann|Senate.

Salary

The Taoiseach's salary is considerably higher than for leaders in many other countries: €310,000 annually, compared to £127,000 (about €160,000) for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister, 0,000 ( about €260,000) for the President of the United States, and €228,000 for the President of France, for example. In October 2007, the Taoiseach was 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 Taoiseach's residence|residence of the Taoiseach.

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",Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1°. 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." its literal translation is "Chieftain" or "Leader"Department of the Taoiseach: Youth Zone web page (FAQ). Some historians suggest that in Early history of Ireland|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 Scottish clan|clan chief and both words originally had similar meaning in the Goidelic languages|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.

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 Irish Free State|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 of the Irish Free State|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.Among the most famous ministerial dismissals have been those of Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney during the Arms Crisis in 1970, Brian Lenihan, Snr|Brian Lenihan in 1990 and Albert Reynolds, Pádraig Flynn and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn in 1991. 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

Main articles: Irish heads of government since 1919|List of Irish heads of government since 1919, List of Taoisigh by important facts Prior to the enactment of the Constitution of Ireland|1937 Constitution, the head of government was referred to as the President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State|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.