GOVERNMENT
Ireland is a sovereign, independent, democratic state with a parliamentary system of government. The president, who serves as head of state in a largely ceremonial role, is elected for a 7-year term and can be re-elected only once. The current president is Mary McAleese, who is serving her second term after having succeeded President Mary Robinson--the first instance worldwide where one woman has followed another as an elected head of state. In carrying out certain constitutional powers and functions, the president is aided by the Council of State, an advisory body. On the Taoiseach's (prime minister's) advice, the president also dissolves the Oireachtas (Parliament).
The prime minister (Taoiseach, pronounced "TEE-shuck") is elected by the Dail (lower house of Parliament) as the leader of the political party, or coalition of parties, which wins the most seats in the national elections, held approximately every 5 years (unless called earlier). Executive power is vested in a cabinet whose ministers are nominated by the Taoiseach and approved by the Dail.
The bicameral Oireachtas (Parliament) consists of the Seanad Eireann (Senate) and the Dail Eireann (House of Representatives). The Seanad is composed of 60 members--11 nominated by the prime minister, 6 elected by the national universities, and 43 elected from panels of candidates established on a vocational basis. The Seanad has the power to delay legislative proposals and is allowed 90 days to consider and amend bills sent to it by the Dail, which wields greater power in Parliament. The Dail has 166 members popularly elected to a maximum term of 5 years under a complex system of proportional representation. A member of the Dail is known as a Teachta Dala, or TD.
Judges
are appointed by the president on nomination by the government
and can be removed from office only for misbehavior or incapacity
and then only by resolution of both houses of Parliament. The
ultimate court of appeal is the Supreme Court, consisting of the
chief justice and five other justices. The Supreme Court also
can decide upon the constitutionality of legislative acts if the
president asks for an opinion.
Local
government is by elected county councils and--in the cities of
Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Waterford--by county borough corporations.
In practice, however, authority remains with the central government.
Irish politics remain dominated by the two political parties that grew out of Ireland's bitter 1922-23 civil war. Fianna Fail was formed by those who opposed the 1921 treaty that partitioned the island. Although treaty opponents lost the civil war, Fianna Fail soon became Ireland's largest political party. Fine Gael, representative of the pro-treaty forces, remains the country's second-largest party. The Progressive Democrats, Labour, Sinn Fein, and the Greens are the other significant parties.
The May 2007 national elections brought the Fianna Fail party and its leader Bertie Ahern back to power in a coalition government for an unprecedented third five-year term. Coalition members joining Fianna Fail were the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats. Ahern appointed Finance Minister Brian Cowen Deputy Prime Minister (Tanaiste, pronounced "TAW-nish-tuh").
On April 3, 2008 Ahern announced his intention to resign as leader of Fianna Fail and Taoiseach on May 6. Cowen was elected leader of Fianna Fail on April 5, and assumed office on May 6. He was elected Taoiseach on May 7. Cowen appointed Mary Coughlan, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment as Tanaiste. The Foreign Minister is Micheal Martin.
Local and European elections took place in June 2004 and saw gains for opposition parties. The election also featured a referendum on citizenship. Until that time, Ireland had granted citizenship on the basis of birth on Irish soil. Concerns about security and social welfare abuse prompted the government to seek to bring citizenship laws in line with the more restrictive policies prevalent in the rest of Europe, and the 2004 referendum measure passed by a wide majority. Now, persons with non-Irish parents can acquire Irish citizenship at birth only if at least one parent has been resident in Ireland for three years preceding the birth.
In a referendum held on June 12, 2008 Irish voters rejected the European Union (EU) Lisbon Treaty by 53.7% to 46.3%. The margin of the "no" vote was surprisingly high given that most of the political parties, trade unions, employers' organizations, and farmers' associations endorsed it. However, no single factor emerged as decisive in the referendum's defeat. The government began a "comprehensive analysis" of the Irish vote, which they intend to present to their EU partners at the EU Council meeting in October.
Northern
Ireland
Consolidating the peace process in Northern Ireland and encouraging the full implementation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and the 2006 St. Andrews Agreement remain U.S. priorities in Ireland.
The
conflict in Northern Ireland stems from a history of British rule,
historical animosity between Catholics and Protestants, and the
various armed and political attempts to unite Northern Ireland
with the rest of the island. "Nationalist" and “republican”
groups seek a united Ireland, while “unionists” and
“loyalists” want Northern Ireland to remain part of
the United Kingdom. After decades of violence by both unionist
and republican paramilitaries, most notably the Irish Republican
Army (IRA), the British and Irish governments negotiated an IRA
ceasefire in 1994, which was followed by the landmark U.S.-brokered
Good Friday Agreement (GFA) in 1998.
The
GFA established a power-sharing legislative assembly to serve
as the autonomous local government of Northern Ireland. The 108-member
Northern Ireland Assembly is led by a first minister and deputy
first minister, one from each of the two communities, and a 10-minister
executive. The GFA also provided for changes in both the British
and Irish constitutions. Ireland ceded territorial claim to Northern
Ireland, and the U.K. agreed that Northern Ireland could become
part of Ireland if a majority (north and south) so voted in the
future. Finally, the GFA provides the blueprint for “normalization,”
to include the eventual removal of British forces, devolution
of police and justice functions, and guarantees of human rights
and equal opportunity for all individuals. The agreement was approved
in a referendum by 71% of Northern Ireland voters and 95% of Irish
voters.
The
major political parties in Northern Ireland are the Democratic
Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP),
and the Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP). The UUP and
SDLP are centrist unionist and republican parties, respectively,
while Sinn Fein is strongly republican and the DUP is strongly
unionist. From the time the Assembly was created in 1998 until
2003, the UUP and SDLP were the governing parties.
In October 2002, the British Government suspended (for the fourth time) the Assembly, following a breakdown in trust between Unionists and Republicans. The British and Irish Governments began discussions with the parties to try to resolve longstanding unresolved differences between the communities, and to secure a commitment from Sinn Fein that Republicans would divest themselves of all paramilitary activities and capabilities. Efforts to restore the political process in time to stage new elections to the Assembly in May 2003 broke down when the two governments concluded they did not have sufficient assurances from the Republicans. However, the governments proceeded to publish a joint declaration, mapping out the timetable to full implementation of the GFA. The governments also created an International Monitoring Commission to serve as a forum to hear complaints of alleged breaches of GFA commitments by the political parties and/or by British authorities. The four-member commission includes a representative from the United States.
Beginning in 2005, there were significant steps to reinvigorate the peace process. In July 2005, the IRA unilaterally announced that it would end its "armed struggle" and rely upon solely peaceful and democratic means to achieve its political objectives. The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) confirmed in September 2005 that the IRA had effectively put its weapons "beyond use." A series of reports by the International Monitoring Commission also noted significant progress by the IRA in its move away from criminality. Following upon this momentum, the British and Irish Governments in April 2006 launched a new negotiation process that envisioned the restoration of the Assembly and the selection of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister by year's end.
This process led to a summit at St. Andrews, Scotland, in October 2006, brokered by Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, which achieved agreement between Sinn Fein and the DUP on the process for restoring power to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Elections for the Assembly took place on March 7, 2007, which led to the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly on May 8, 2007. DUP leader Ian Paisley was elected First Minister, while Sinn Fein leader Martin McGuinness became Deputy First Minister. Two breakthroughs enabled this historic agreement to proceed: Sinn Fein's decision at an extraordinary Ard Fheis ("AR-desh," party conference) on January 28 to endorse policing and justice; and the DUP's decision to contest the March 7 election, signaling that the party would agree to share power with Sinn Fein in a restored Assembly. In the meantime, both the British and Irish Governments have offered significant new financial packages for the new Assembly.
The Special Envoy for the Northern Ireland Peace Process is Paula Dobriansky, who coordinates with the U.S. Missions in London, Belfast and Dublin to reinforce the views of the British and Irish Governments that the newly restored Northern Ireland Assembly must govern effectively in order to achieve economic growth and community reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
The United States also continues to provide funding ($13.5 million in 2007) for projects administered under the International Fund for Ireland (IFI), created in 1986 to generate economic opportunity and cross-community engagement in the border areas, both North and South. Since the IFI's establishment, the U.S. Government has contributed over $482 million, roughly half of total IFI funding.
Principal
Government Officials
President--Mary McAleese
Taoiseach (Prime Minister)--Brian Cowen
Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment--Mary Coughlan
Foreign Minister--Micheal Martin
Ambassador to the United States--Michael Collins
The
Irish Embassy in the United States is at 2234 Massachusetts Ave.
NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-462-3939/40/41/42). Irish Consulates
are located in New York, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco.
Government Type: Parliamentary
republic.
Independence: December 6,1921.
Constitution: December 29, 1937.
Branches: Executive--president, chief of state; prime minister
(Taoiseach--pronounced "TEE-shock"), head of government. Legislative--bicameral
National Parliament (Oireachtas--pronounced "o-ROCK-tas"): House
of Representatives (Dail--pronounced "DOIL") and Senate (Seanad--pronounced
"SHAN-ad"). Judicial--Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 26 counties, 34 local authorities.
Major political parties: Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labor,
Progressive Democrats, Green Party, Sinn Fein.
Suffrage: Universal over 18.
