Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann. It consists of 174 members, each known as a Teachta Dála. TDs represent 43 constituencies and are directly elected for terms not exceeding five years, on the system of proportional representation using the single transferable vote. Its powers are similar to those of lower houses under many other bicameral parliamentary systems and it is by far the dominant branch of the Oireachtas. Subject to the limits imposed by the Constitution of Ireland, it has the power to pass any law it wishes, and to nominate and remove the Taoiseach. Since 1922, it has met in Leinster House in Dublin.
The Dáil took its current form when the 1937 Constitution was adopted, but it maintains continuity with the First Dáil established in 1919.
Composition
The Dáil has 174 members. The number is set within the limits of the Constitution of Ireland, which sets a minimum ratio of one member per 20,000 of the population, and a maximum of one per 30,000. Under current legislation, members are directly elected for terms not exceeding five years by the people of Ireland under a system of proportional representation known as the single transferable vote. Currently every Dáil constituency elects three, four or five TDs.Membership of the Dáil is open to Irish citizens who are 21 or older. A member of the Dáil is a Teachta Dála and is known generally as a TD or Deputy.
The Dáil electorate consists of Irish and British citizens over 18 years of age who are registered to vote in Ireland. Under the Constitution a general election for Dáil Éireann must occur once in every seven years, but an earlier maximum of five years is set by the Electoral Act 1992. The Taoiseach can, at any time, make a request to the president to dissolve the Dáil, in which case a general election must occur within thirty days. The President may refuse to grant the dissolution to a Taoiseach who has ceased to retain the support of a majority in the Dáil; to date, no request for a dissolution has been refused.
Elections
The STV electoral system broadly produces proportional representation in the Dáil. The low district magnitude of the constituencies used, however, usually gives a small advantage to the larger parties and under-represents smaller parties. Since the 1990s the norm has been coalition governments. Prior to 1989, single-party governments by Fianna Fáil were common. The multi-seat constituencies required by STV mean that candidates must often compete for election with others from the same party. This system offers wide voter choice but is accused by some of producing TDs who are excessively parochial. By-elections occur under the alternative vote system. Proposals to amend the constitution to change to the first-past-the-post system were rejected in referendums in 1959 and in 1968.Currently every Dáil constituency elects three, four or five TDs. The constitution specifies that no constituency may return fewer than three TDs but does not specify any upper limit to constituency magnitude. However, statute specifies a maximum of five seats per constituency. The constitution requires that constituency boundaries be reviewed at least once in every twelve years, so that boundaries may be redrawn to accommodate changes in population. Boundary changes are drafted by the Electoral Commission − which from 2023 replaced a judge-led Constituency Commission appointed for each review − and its recommendations are implemented by law. Malapportionment is forbidden by the constitution. Under the Constitution, the commission is required to refer to the most recent Census when considering boundary changes.
Number of members
There are currently 174 TDs in the Dáil. This figure was provided by the Electoral Act 2023 and has been in place since the 2024 general election. This follows a recommendation of the Electoral Commission in August 2023. This gives an average representation of 29,593 people per TD, based on the 2022 census.Layout
The Dáil chamber has confrontational benches but the end segment is curved to create a partial hemicycle. The government TDs sit on the left of the Ceann Comhairle, with the main opposition party on their right. The Chamber was adapted for use as a Parliament from its former use as a lecture theatre.Duration
The First Dáil was established on 21 January 1919 as the single-chamber parliament of the Irish Republic. One of the first actions of the Dáil was to ratify a constitution, commonly known as the Dáil Constitution. As a provisional constitution it made no reference to the length of the term of each Dáil. The first and second Dáil existed under the provisions of this constitution. Neither was recognised by the British government or the governments of other countries as the lawful parliament of Ireland.On 6 December 1922, following the signing of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty which brought the Irish War of Independence to an end, the single chamber Dáil became the lower house of a new bicameral Oireachtas, the parliament of the newly established Irish Free State.
Article 28 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State set the maximum term for the Dáil at four years. This was amended in 1927 from four years to six years "or such shorter period as may be fixed by legislation". Later that same year, this period was fixed in law as a duration of "five years reckoned from the date of the first meeting of Dáil Éireann after the last previous dissolution".
On 29 December 1937, on the coming into force of the new Constitution of Ireland, the Irish Free State ceased to exist and was replaced by a new state called Ireland. Article 16.5 of the 1937 Constitution states, "Dáil Éireann shall not continue for a longer period than seven years from the date of its first meeting: a shorter period may be fixed by law". The period in law remained at five years. Since the coming into force of the 1937 constitution, no Irish government has proposed changing the maximum term of the Dáil, which still remains five years and was reconfirmed by legislation in 1992, which stated, "The same Dáil shall not continue for a longer period than five years from the date of its first meeting". Consequently, the maximum term for the Dáil is five years from the date it first met following the last general election.
Dissolution
Article 16.3.2° of the Constitution of Ireland provides that an election for the membership of Dáil Éireann must take place no later than 30 days after a dissolution of the current Dáil. Article 16.4.2° requires that the newly elected Dáil Éireann must convene no later than 30 days after the election. As such, the maximum period of time between a dissolution of Dáil Éireann before a general election and the meeting of the new Dáil after a general election is 60 days.The procedure and timetable for the dissolution of Dáil Éireann, pursuant to a general election, and the date for the reassembly of the newly elected Dáil, after the election, is set out in the Constitution of Ireland. Article 13.2.1° states that "Dáil Éireann shall be summoned and dissolved by the President on the advice of the Taoiseach". Therefore, the timing of a general election rests with the Taoiseach of the day.
Once so advised by the Taoiseach, the President issues a proclamation which specifies the date on which the current Dáil is dissolved, and the date on which the newly elected Dáil must first meet.
The timing for polling day in a general election is decided on by the Taoiseach. However, this is governed within a specified statutory framework. Once the presidential proclamation is issued, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage sets, by way of a ministerial order, the date and time of polling day in the election.
Section 39 of the Electoral Act 1992 states:
Section 96 of the Electoral Act 1992 states:
For the purposes of the Act an "excluded day" means a day which is a Sunday, Good Friday or a day which is declared to be a public holiday by the Holidays Act 1973, or a day which by virtue of a statute or proclamation is a public holiday.
Therefore, if the Dáil were dissolved on a Tuesday 1 February, and the writs for elections issued by the Clerk of the Dáil on that day, then the earliest date for polling day would be Tuesday 22 February and the latest date for polling would be Wednesday 2 March, with polling stations being open for a minimum 12-hour period between the hours of 7am and 10.30pm on polling day. In such a scenario, the latest date by which the newly elected Dáil must assemble would be Thursday 24 March, or Friday 1 April.
Title
The name Dáil Éireann is taken from the Irish language but is the official title of the body in both English and Irish, including in both language versions of the Irish constitution. Since the Dáil was first established in 1919, it has also been described variously as a "National Assembly", a "Chamber of Deputies" and a "House of Representatives".A dáil means a "meeting, tryst or encounter of any kind". Article 15 of the 1937 Constitution describes the body as "a House of Representatives to be called Dáil Éireann".
The word Dáil is accompanied by the definite article, but Dáil Éireann is not; one speaks of "the Dáil" but not "the Dáil Éireann". The plural of Dáil in the English language is most commonly Dáils, although the Irish-language plural Dálaí is sometimes encountered in English. As there is only ever one Dáil in existence at any one time, the plural is used when referring to the Dáil after different elections; for example, when referring to the First and Second Dáils.