Tánaiste
| Tánaiste of Ireland | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | President of Ireland on the nomination of the Taoiseach |
| Inaugural holder | Seán T. O'Kelly[1] |
| Formation | 29 December 1937[1] |
| Salary | €171,309[2] |
The Tánaiste (/ˈtɔːnᵻʃtə/)[3] is the deputy prime minister of Ireland and the second-most senior officer in the Government of Ireland.[4] The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is Frances Fitzgerald TD who was appointed on 6 May 2016.[5]
Overview
Origins and etymology
Tánaiste (Irish pronunciation: [ˈt̪ˠaːnˠaʃtʲə]) was the Irish word for the heir of the chief (taoiseach) or king (rí), under the Gaelic system of tanistry. Before independence, the British Lord Lieutenant of Ireland or Viceroy was sometimes referred to in the Irish language as An Tánaiste-Rí, literally 'the deputy king'.
Modern office
The office was created in 1937 under the new Constitution of Ireland, replacing the previous office of Vice-President of the Executive Council that had existed under the Free State constitution. This office was first held by Kevin O'Higgins of Cumann na nGaedheal from 1922 to 1927.
The Taoiseach nominates a member of Dáil Éireann,[6] who will also be a member of the government, to the office. The nominee then receives his seal of office from the President of Ireland in recognition of his appointment. The Tánaiste acts in the place of the Taoiseach during his or her temporary absence. In the event of the Taoiseach's death or permanent incapacitation, the Tánaiste acts in his stead until another Taoiseach is appointed.[7] The Tánaiste is, ex officio, a member of the Council of State. The Tánaiste chairs meetings of the government in the Taoiseach's absence and may take questions on his behalf in the Dáil or Seanad.
Aside from these duties, the title is largely honorific as the Constitution does not confer any additional powers on the office holder. While the Department of the Taoiseach is a Department of State, there is no equivalent for the Tánaiste. In theory the Tánaiste could be a minister without portfolio but in practice every Tánaiste has in parallel held a ministerial portfolio as head of a Department of State. Dick Spring in the 1994–97 "Rainbow Coalition" had an official "Office of the Tánaiste", though other parties have not used this nomenclature.[8] Under Spring, Eithne Fitzgerald was "Minister of State at the Office of the Tánaiste", with responsibility for coordinating Labour policy in the coalition.[9][10]
Under a coalition government, the Tánaiste is typically the leader of the second-largest government party, just as the Taoiseach is usually leader of the largest; however, during the 1989–92 and the 2007–11 governments, the position was held by a Fianna Fáil member, although they were in coalition.
Three Tánaistí later held the office of Taoiseach: Seán Lemass, Bertie Ahern, and Brian Cowen. Two Tánaistí were later elected as President of Ireland: Seán T. O'Kelly and Erskine H. Childers.
List of office-holders
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) Constituency |
Term of office | Party | Exec. Council (President) |
Ministries as Vice-President | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Kevin O'Higgins (1892–1927) TD for Leix–Offaly until 1923 TD for Dublin County from 1923 |
6 December 1922 | 10 July 1927 |
Cumann na nGaedheal | 1·2 (W.T.Cosgrave) |
Justice (1922–27) |
| 2 | Ernest Blythe (1889–1975) TD for Monaghan |
14 July 1927 |
9 March 1932 | Cumann na nGaedheal | 3·4·5 (W.T.Cosgrave) |
Posts and Telegraphs (1927–32) | |
| 3 |  |
Seán T. O'Kelly (1882–1966) TD for Dublin North until 1937 TD for Dublin North-West from 1937 |
9 March 1932 | 29 December 1937 | Fianna Fáil | 6·7·8 (de Valera) |
Local Government and Public Health (1932–37) |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) Constituency |
Term of office | Party | Government (Taoiseach) |
Ministries as Tánaiste Subsequent higher offices | |
| (3) | |
Seán T. O'Kelly (1882–1966) TD for Dublin North-West |
29 December 1937 | 14 June 1945 | Fianna Fáil | 1·2·3·4 (de Valera) |
Local Government and Public Health (1937–39) Education (1939) Finance (1939–45) President of Ireland (1945–59) |
| 4 | .jpg) |
Seán Lemass (1899–1971) TD for Dublin South |
14 June 1945 | 18 February 1948 | Fianna Fáil | 4 (de Valera) |
Supplies (1945) Industry and Commerce (1945–48) |
| 5 | William Norton (1900–1963) TD for Kildare |
18 February 1948 | 13 June 1951 | Labour | 5 (Costello) |
Social Welfare (1948–51) | |
| (4) | |
Seán Lemass (1899–1971) TD for Dublin South-Central |
13 June 1951 | 2 June 1954 |
Fianna Fáil | 6 (de Valera) |
Industry and Commerce (1951–54) |
| (5) | William Norton (1900–1963) TD for Kildare |
2 June 1954 |
20 March 1957 | Labour | 7 (Costello) |
Industry and Commerce (1954–57) | |
| (4) | |
Seán Lemass (1899–1971) TD for Dublin South-Central |
20 March 1957 | 23 June 1959 | Fianna Fáil | 8 (de Valera) |
Industry and Commerce (1957–59) Taoiseach (1959–66) |
| 6 | Seán MacEntee (1889–1984) TD for Dublin South-East |
23 June 1959 | 21 April 1965 | Fianna Fáil | 9·10 (Lemass) |
Health (1959–65) | |
| 7 | Frank Aiken (1898–1983) TD for Louth |
21 April 1965 | 2 July 1969 |
Fianna Fáil | 11 (Lemass) 12 (Lynch) |
External Affairs (1965–69) | |
| 8 | Erskine H. Childers (1905–1974) TD for Monaghan |
2 July 1969 |
14 March 1973 | Fianna Fáil | 13 (Lynch) |
Health (1969–73) President of Ireland (1973–74) | |
| 9 | Brendan Corish (1918–1990) TD for Wexford |
14 March 1973 | 5 July 1977 |
Labour | 14 (L. Cosgrave) |
Health (1973–77) | |
| 10 | George Colley (1925–1983) TD for Dublin Clontarf |
5 July 1977 |
30 June 1981 | Fianna Fáil | 15 (Lynch) 16 (Haughey) |
Finance (1977–79) Tourism and Transport (1979–80) Energy (1980–81) | |
| 11 | Michael O'Leary (1936–2006) TD for Dublin Central |
30 June 1981 | 9 March 1982 | Labour | 17 (FitzGerald) |
Energy (1981–82) | |
| 11 | Ray MacSharry (born 1938) TD for Sligo–Leitrim |
9 March 1982 | 14 December 1982 | Fianna Fáil | 18 (Haughey) |
Finance (1982) | |
| 13 |  |
Dick Spring (born 1950) TD for Kerry North |
14 December 1982 | 20 January 1987 | Labour | 19 (FitzGerald) |
Environment (1982–83) Energy (1983–87) |
| 14 | Peter Barry (1928–2016) TD for Cork South-Central |
20 January 1987 | 10 March 1987 | Fine Gael | Foreign Affairs (1987) | ||
| 15 | Brian Lenihan (1930–1995) TD for Dublin West |
10 March 1987 | 31 October 1990 | Fianna Fáil | 20·21 (Haughey) |
Foreign Affairs (1987–89) Defence (1989–90) | |
| 16 | John Wilson (1923–2007) TD for Cavan–Monaghan |
13 November 1990 | 12 January 1993 | Fianna Fáil | 21 (Haughey) 22 (Reynolds) |
Marine (1990–92) Defence (1992–93) | |
| (13) | |
Dick Spring (born 1950) TD for Kerry North |
12 January 1993 | 17 November 1994 | Labour | 23 (Reynolds) |
Foreign Affairs (1993–94) |
| 17 |  |
Bertie Ahern (born 1951) TD for Dublin Central |
17 November 1994 | 15 December 1994 | Fianna Fáil | Finance (1994) Taoiseach (1997–2008) | |
| (13) | |
Dick Spring (born 1950) TD for Kerry North |
15 December 1994 | 26 June 1997 | Labour | 24 (Bruton) |
Foreign Affairs (1994–97) |
| 18 |  |
Mary Harney (born 1953) TD for Dublin South-West until 2002 TD for Dublin Mid-West from 2002 |
26 June 1997 | 13 September 2006 |
Progressive Democrats | 25·26 (Ahern) |
Enterprise, Trade and Employment (1997–2004) Health and Children (2004–06) |
| 19 | Michael McDowell (born 1951) TD for Dublin South-East |
13 September 2006 |
14 June 2007 | Progressive Democrats | 26 (Ahern) |
Justice, Equality and Law Reform (2002–07) | |
| 20 |  |
Brian Cowen (born 1960) TD for Laois–Offaly |
14 June 2007 | 7 May 2008 |
Fianna Fáil | 27 (Ahern) |
Finance (2007–08) Taoiseach (2008–11) |
| 21 |  |
Mary Coughlan (born 1965) TD for Donegal South-West |
7 May 2008 |
9 March 2011 | Fianna Fáil | 28 (Cowen) |
Enterprise, Trade and Employment (2008–10) Education and Skills (2010–11) Health and Children (2011) |
| 22 |  |
Eamon Gilmore (born 1955) TD for Dún Laoghaire |
9 March 2011 | 4 July 2014 |
Labour | 29 (Kenny) |
Foreign Affairs and Trade (2011–14) |
| 23 | .jpg) |
Joan Burton (born 1949) TD for Dublin West |
4 July 2014 |
6 May 2016 |
Labour | Social Protection (2014–2016) | |
| 24 |  |
Frances Fitzgerald (born 1950) TD for Dublin Mid-West |
6 May 2016 |
Incumbent | Fine Gael | 30 (Kenny) |
Justice and Equality (2014–) |
See also
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tánaistí. |
Sources
- Connolly, Eileen (2005). "The government and the governmental system". In Coakley, John; Gallagher, Michael. Politics in the Republic of Ireland. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780415280662. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
Citations
- 1 2 Before the enactment of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, the deputy head of government was referred to as the Vice-President of the Executive Council.
- ↑ "Cabinet decides to cut pay for Ministers". RTÉ News. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- ↑ "Tánaiste: definition of Tánaiste in Oxford dictionary (British & World English). Meaning, pronunciation and origin of the word". Oxford Language Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
- ↑ "Role of the Taoiseach". Department of the Taoiseach. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ↑ Doyle, Kevin; Niall, O'Connor (6 May 2016). "70 days later - Your new Government ministers revealed - Independent.ie". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ↑ Article 28.7.1° of the Constitution of Ireland.
- ↑ Article 28.6.2° and 28.6.3° of the Constitution of Ireland.
- ↑ Connolly 2005, pp.339–340
- ↑ "Eithne Fitzgerald". Directory of Members. Oireachtas. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ↑ Müller, Wolfgang C.; Strom, Kaare (2003). Coalition Governments in Western Europe. Oxford University Press. p. 149. ISBN 9780198297611. Retrieved 20 April 2016.