This is a list of decrees issued by the First and Second Dáils, which were the revolutionary legislatures of the Irish Republic. It is split into two parts: The list of 44 decrees compiled in the early 1920s, and additional items which could also be considered decrees.

Background The First Dáil was established in early 1919 as a revolutionary body to rival the existing British administration for influence and control of Ireland. It was followed by the Second Dáil, which was in existence from mid-1921 to mid-1922. These Dáils claimed to be the legitimate legislature for the entire island, and as such made legislation in order to govern the country. These pieces of legislation are now referred to as 'decrees', although that term was not uniformly used at the time.

Due to the circumstances in which the Dáil operated, it suffered from poor record keeping, which makes investigation of its activities difficult. There are two sources for the decrees: the archive documents of the Dáil (most decrees are just typescript on unheaded paper) and the printed volumes of Dáil debates. These two sources frequently contradict each other, for example, a decree that exists in the archive not being stated in the debates to have been passed as a decree, or simply not being mentioned at all. Due to the difficulties in determining what counts as a decree, no official list of them has ever been published, despite efforts post-independence to compile one.

After independence, the decrees were largely ignored by the new state. Although the Free State constitution stated that all laws in force at the creation of the state would remain in force, a court soon ruled that the decrees were not considered legislation. Instead, this provision is considered to apply to the British legislation passed during this period. Additionally, members of the Executive Council avoided giving the decrees any sense of validity or importance when speaking in the Dáil.

The 'list of 44' The list of decrees below (known as the 'list of 44') was compiled in the early 1920s by an unknown person. Identical copies are in the National Archives of Ireland and the archives of University College Dublin. The systems of numbering used in the list were not in use for much of the life of the First Dáil, so were retrospectively added for the earlier entries.

The inclusion of some items in the list has been questioned. Some are far closer to political declarations or internal party decisions than legislation. Additionally, investigations by civil servants have concluded that several of the items were resolutions or ministerial orders, not decrees.

First Dáil 1919 File No.SubjectDateNo. of decree1Declaration of Independence21 January 19191/19192Democratic Programme21 January 19192/19193Loan Issue10 April 19193/19194Establishment of Consular Services18 June 19194/19195Provision of Land18 June 19195/19196Afforestation18 June 19196/19197Fisheries18 June 19197/19198National Arbitration Courts18 June 19198/19199National Civil Service18 June 19199/191910Industrial Commission of Inquiry18 June 191910/191911Housing19 June 191911/191912Loan Issue in America20 August 191912/191913Oath of Allegiance20 August 191913/1919

1920 File No.SubjectDateNo. of decree14Election Campaign for the Presidency of U.S.A.29 June 19201/192015Consuls and Diplomatic Agents29 June 19202/192016Ambassador to Washington29 June 19203/192017Diplomatic Mission29 June 19204/192018Courts of Justice and Equity29 June 19205/192019Claims to Land29 June 19206/192020Income Tax29 June 19207/192021Closing of Loan Issue29 June 19208/192022Commission re Local Administration29 June 19209/192023Import and Export Company29 June 192010/192024Imposition of Political or Religious Tests6 August 192011/192025Organised Opposition to the Republic6 August 192012/192026Increase of Rent6 August 192013/192027Emigration from Ireland6 August 192014/192028Severance of connection with Local Government Board17 September 192015/192029Terms of Reference of Commission on Organised Opposition to the Republic17 September 192016/192030Non-recognition of Hostile Legislation17 September 192017/192031National Economic Council17 September 192018/192032National Land Commission17 September 192019/1920

1921 File No.SubjectDateNo. of decree33Local Government Code of Laws25 January 19211/192134Prohibition of Census11 March 19212/192135Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest11 March 19213/192136Exclusion of British Goods11 March 19214/192136aExclusion of British Goods (Supplemental)10 May 19215/1921

Second Dáil 1922 File No.SubjectDateNo. of decree37Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths1 March 19221/192238Ard Fheis Agreement2 March 19222/192239General Election20 May 19223/192240Membership of Local Authorities8 June 19224/192241Limerick Night Watchmen8 June 19225/192242County Scheme — Temporary Provisions8 June 19226/192243Secondary Education8 June 19227/192244Workman's Compensation (War Addition) Extension8 June 19228/1922

Other decrees

There are several items that were not included in the 'list of 44', but could nonetheless be argued to be decrees:

Title or descriptionDateCitationRecognition Campaign ($1,000,000 authorised to be spent to obtain recognition by the US)29 June 1920Informal decision on transfer of power in an emergency11 March 1921Dáil Éireann Proclamation (local bodies to take no part in the Senate election)28 April 1921Decision to accept the May 1921 elections as Dáil elections10 May 1921Provisional Orders Decree25 August 1921Decree to amend the Local Government Act of 190226 August 1921Appointment of a Registrar-Supervisor of Friendly Societies26 August 1921

See also List of acts of the Oireachtas

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