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.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall consist of the President and two Houses, viz.: a House of Representatives to be called Dáil Éireann and a Senate to be called Seanad Éireann." It consists of 174 members, each known as a (plural , commonly abbreviated as TDs). 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 (PR-STV). 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 (head of government). 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 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 (head of government or prime minister) 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 + Number of members Dáil Election TDs 1st 1918 105 2nd 1921 180 3rd 1922 128 4th 1923 153 5th Jun. 1927 153 6th Sep. 1927 153 7th 1932 153 8th 1933 153 9th 1937 138 10th 1938 138 11th 1943 138 12th 1944 138 13th 1948 147 14th 1951 147 15th 1954 147 16th 1957 147 17th 1961 144 18th 1965 144 19th 1969 144 20th 1973 144 21st 1977 148 22nd 1981 166 23rd Feb. 1982 166 24th Nov. 1982 166 25th 1987 166 26th 1989 166 27th 1992 166 28th 1997 166 29th 2002 166 30th 2007 166 31st 2011 166 32nd 2016 158 33rd 2020 160 34th 2024 174
There are currently 174 TDs in the Dáil. This figure was provided by the Electoral (Amendment) 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 (1922) 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 (1937) 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(1) of the Electoral Act 1992 states:
"Where the Dáil is dissolved, the Clerk of the Dáil shall, immediately upon the issue of the Proclamation dissolving the Dáil, issue a writ to each returning officer for a constituency directing him to cause an election to be held of the full number of members of the Dáil to serve in the Dáil for that constituency."
Section 96 of the Electoral Act 1992 (as amended) states: "(1) A poll at a Dáil election— (a) shall be taken on such day as shall be appointed by the Minister by order, being a day which (disregarding any excluded day) is not earlier than the eighteenth day or later than the twenty-fifth day next following the day on which the writ or writs for the election is or are issued, (b) shall continue for such period, not being less than twelve hours, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10.30 p.m. as may be fixed by the Minister by order, subject to the restriction that, in the case of a general election, he shall fix the same period for all constituencies. (2) An order under this section shall be published in the as soon as may be after it is made."
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 (Employees) 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 (in a non-leap year), 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 (18 days later, excluding Sundays) and the latest date for polling would be Wednesday 2 March (25 days after, excluding Sundays), with polling stations being open for a minimum 12-hour period between the hours of 7am and 10.30pm on polling day (as set out in the ministerial order). In such a scenario, the latest date by which the newly elected Dáil must assemble would be Thursday 24 March (for a 22 February polling date), or Friday 1 April (for a 2 March polling date).
Title The name 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" The Statesman's Year-Book , 1930, page 77 and a "House of Representatives".
A 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 1st and 2nd Dáils.
Ceann Comhairle