Government of Ireland
The Government of Ireland (Irish: Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
Government of Ireland | |
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Irish: Rialtas na hÉireann | |
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Overview | |
Established | 29 December 1937 |
State | Ireland |
Leader | Taoiseach |
Appointed by |
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Main organ | Cabinet |
Ministries | 15 |
Responsible to | Oireachtas |
Headquarters | |
Website | www |
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The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the Taoiseach, the head of government. The government is composed of ministers, all of whom must be members of the Oireachtas, which consists of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. The Taoiseach must be nominated by the Dáil, the house of representatives. Following the nomination of the Dáil, the President of Ireland appoints the Taoiseach to their role. The President also appoints members of the government, including the Tánaiste, the deputy head of government, on the nomination of the Taoiseach and their approval by the Dáil. The government is dependent upon the Oireachtas to pass primary legislation and as such, the government needs to command a majority in the Dáil in order to ensure support and confidence for budgets and government bills to pass. The Government is also known as the cabinet.
The current government took office on 27 June 2020 with Micheál Martin, leader of Fianna Fáil, as Taoiseach. The Tánaiste is Leo Varadkar, leader of Fine Gael. It is a majority coalition government of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party.[1] It was formed after protracted government negotiations following a general election on 8 February 2020.