How Powerful Is The Taoiseach Within The Irish Political System?
The Taoiseach is potentially very powerful indeed. The constitution of Ireland gives the Taoiseach extensive powers. He* also has extensive powers within the administration of the government and powers within his political party. The constitution gives the Taoiseach the power to nominate all the Government ministers, eleven members of the Seanad and the attorney general (he also has the power to fire any of the ministers whenever he wants). The constitution also gives him the power to call an election whenever he wants. In practice he sets the agenda of cabinet meetings and the order of government business within the Dail each day. Along with these extensive powers he
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Lemass was of the opinion that if a minister disagreed with him on a matter of policy he had to go (Chubb, 1992:187). In a coalition situation the Taoiseach’s choice is limited further by the deals made with his coalition partner. This usually entails the leader of the coalition party getting the post of Tanaiste and a number of ministry’s given to that party also. In a coalition situation the Taoiseach’s power to fire ministers is tempered by his coalition partners. They may not agree to the firing of a party colleague and therefore collapse the government. His power to nominate eleven members of the Seanad is generally used to ensure a majority in the Seanad. In 1997 Bertie Ahern used this power, having only 23 of the 49 elected seats, to gain a 32 to 28 majority for the coalition government in the Seanad. (Elgie, 1999:239). His coalition partners the Progressive Democrats however made sure they were not all Fine Fail members. The one power that cannot really be tempered by a coalition government is the power to call an Election. The Taoiseach usually sets an election date at a time favorable to his position. If the government are doing particularly well in the polls and he reckons his number of seats may improve he can call an election. The coalition partners cannot really affect this power if the Taoiseach reckons he can gain a majority in the Dail post election. In setting the agenda for cabinet meetings the
The second rule that Sartori created was, “A party qualifies for relevance whenever its existence, or appearance, affects the tactics of party competition and particularly when it alters the direction of the competition- by determining a switch from centripetal to centrifugal competition either leftward, rightward, or in both directions- of the governing-oriented parties” (1983, p.19). This rule further highlights the importance of minor party preferences, and the role they have in the Australian system.
These sorts of powers would generally be associated with a President, not a Prime Minister.
Under a minority government, no party has ultimate control of making policies, it instead rules on consensus with the other parties, conversely, in a majority government, a single-party dominates the legislative process. Though complex agreements between opposition parties, the governing party can maintain confidence. For example, countries including Canada use contract parliamentarism, where opposition parties agree to support the government in return for policy on other concessions (Akash et al., 2010, p. 216). While this promotes collective responsibility, parties are still able to decide their own position on most matters. Therefore, parties collaborate to protect minority agreements that “often survive a full parliamentary term” (Akash et al., p. 216). This can result in motions being passed that cover a broad variety of different topics that ultimately can address issues that all parties see lacking in
In this essay I will assess the outcomes of Additional Member system, First Past the Post system and the Closed Party List system. The F-P-T-P system is used to elect the members of House of Commons and local government in England and Wales. Voters select candidates, and do so by marking his or her name with an ‘X’ on the ballot paper. This reflects the principle of ‘one person, one vote’. The Additional Members system is used in Scottish parliament, Welsh assembly, and Northern Ireland Assembly and Greater London assembly. It is a mixed system made up of F-P-T-P and party-list elements. The Regional party list (or the closed party list) is used to elect the
The checks and balances that the founders of our country put into place to limit the power of the executive branch have failed and allowed the Prime Minister to gather unprecedented and unchecked power. There is a need to establish or re-establish effective checks for the prime minister, at different steps along the policy making process. The traditional checks and balances on the executive branch have come from the house of commons, the senate, and the Governor General. These institutions are meant to work together to ensure that the country is being governed fairly and in the name of the people. However, over the last thirty years the power has been moving away from the legislative branch towards the executive. In a system where majority
As the most widely adopted form of democratic government there are many strengths associated with a parliamentary government. The parliamentary system is often praised for the fast and efficient way in which it is able to pass legislation. The reason this is possible is because unlike a presidential system the legislative and executive power in a parliamentary system are merged together. Due to this fusion of power legislation does not have to undergo a lengthy process and therefore laws can be formulated and put into place much quicker(Bates, 1986: 114-5). Another advantage of a parliamentary system is that the majority of the power is not held by one individual head of state but rather is more evenly divided among a single party or coalition. One of the main benefits of this is that as there is more of a division of power a parliamentary government is less prone to authoritarianism than a presidential system. Juan Linz argues that a presidential system is more dangerous due to the fact that; “Winners and losers are sharply defined for the entire period of the presidential mandate”(Linz, 1990: 56), this sharp line between winners and losers increases tension between these two groups and allows the winner to isolate themselves from other political parties (Linz, 1990: 56). Due to this tension and isolation a presidential system is at a higher risk of turning into an authoritarian regime than a parliamentary system.
This was the case for Labour in 1997 when they won a landslide majority of 418 seats in the House of Commons.
People may feel that our president in executive branch may have too much power but in reality he does not, all of the three powers are equal in power. It is obvious the president was not given enough power in the Constitution to overpower the other branches . The president's authority to lead the nation is limited by checks and balances that were added by the framers of the Constitution. Without approval by Congress, the president can't get legislation passed. Without the support of the Supreme Court, the president's actions can be deemed illegal. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and, appoints the justices
In this essay, I will demonstrate that the Prime Minister is powerful and can cause many potential dangers by analyzing different elements inside and outside of our government over the period of different Prime Ministers throughout the Canadian political history.
Balance of Power Interaction/The ways each branch of the national government can check the power of the other two branches:
The centrepiece of Labour 's programme of constitutional reform was undoubtedly devolution. This was achieved with remarkably few problems. There now seems no likelihood that the new arrangements could be reversed, even by a Conservative administration. The election on 6 May 1999 of a Parliament in Scotland, with extensive powers of primary legislation as well as tax-raising, and an Assembly in Wales, with powers of secondary legislation only, will have a profound impact on governance within the UK. In
Within the United Kingdom, a recurring issue has been raised regarding the political position of Scotland and how the Scottish Parliament could better govern the country. To establish whether the quality of life could be improved for the Scottish people, key events, devolution, and the Scottish Parliament must be evaluated and analysed. The argument for greater power in decision making and the ability to implement change for the citizens of Scotland, has been central to Scottish politics for some time.
Violence, terror, suffering and death. The conflict that has been burning in Northern Ireland seems to be an unstoppable battle and it has flooded over the land of Northern Ireland. The struggle for power and the persistence of greed have fueled the raging fires of the opposing groups. The conflict in Northern Ireland has been discussed continually over the past few decades. Ever since the beginning of the “Troubles,” organizations have been scavenging to find a plan that will cease the violence. Throughout my research for this project, the questions of what are the main sources of conflict in Northern Ireland and why have they continued today guided me to many fascinating pieces of evidence that
Imagine if the entire American government system was operated entire by the president. Every decision, law, and court ruling determined by only one person. There is no room for debate or questioning, ultimately leading to the abuse of power and authority. While this may seem completely absurd, many believe that this is not very far away from actual truth. Due to the uneven use of checks and balances among the three branches of government, it has resulted in the executive branch of the American government gaining too much power, therefore leaving the original intent of the constitution to be changed and unenforced.
The relationship between the legislative and executive authority the presidential system has a distinct difference. In the presidential system the President is the one who heads the executive branch of government, which is separate from the legislative branch. These two branches are both independent of each other. The members of the legislative branch, along with the president, are all elected by the people, whereas the members of the head executive departments of government, the Cabinet, are elected by the President as his or her official advisers. More than having been elected by the President, the Cabinet also requires the conformation and consent of the legislative branch. The sole purpose of the legislature is to create and develop the details of plans and corrections and reviewing of laws. The executive council has the ability to show approval of a legislative agenda, and within that agenda they