Government of Ireland

The Government of Ireland (Irish: Rialtas na hÉireann) is the executive authority of Ireland, headed by the Taoiseach, the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet – is composed of ministers, each of whom must be a member of the Oireachtas, which consists of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. Ministers are usually assigned a government department with a portfolio covering specific policy areas although provision exists for the appointment of a minister without portfolio.

The taoiseach must be nominated by the Dáil, the House of Representatives, from among its members. Following the nomination of the Dáil, the president of Ireland formally appoints the taoiseach. The president also appoints members of the government on the nomination of the taoiseach and their approval by the Dáil. The taoiseach nominates one member of the government as tánaiste, the deputy head of government. Like the taoiseach, the tánaiste and the minister for finance must be members of the Dáil.

The government is dependent on the Oireachtas to pass primary legislation and as such, the government needs to command a majority in the Dáil to ensure support and confidence for budgets and the passage of government legislation.

The 35th government of Ireland entered office on 23 January 2025 with Micheál Martin, leader of Fianna Fáil, as Taoiseach, and Simon Harris, leader of Fine Gael, as Tánaiste. It is a coalition government of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and a group of independent TDs, and was formed after negotiations following a general election in December 2024.

Membership of the cabinet is regulated by Article 28 of the Constitution of Ireland and by the Ministers and Secretaries Acts 1924 to 2020. The Constitution requires the government to consist of between seven and fifteen members, all of whom must be a member of the Oireachtas.

Since the formation of the 12th government of Ireland in 1966, all Irish cabinets have been formed with the constitutional maximum of fifteen ministers. The total sometimes falls below this number for brief periods following the resignation of individual ministers or the withdrawal of a party from a coalition.

No more than two members of the cabinet may be members of Seanad Éireann. All other members of the cabinet must be members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives. The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance must be members of the Dáil. In practice, however, the members of the cabinet are invariably members of the Dáil. Since the adoption of the 1937 Constitution, only two ministers have been appointed from the Seanad: Seán Moylan who served in 1957 as Minister for Agriculture and James Dooge who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1981 to 1982. Joseph Connolly, a member of the Free State Seanad, had served in the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1932 to 1933 as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, and from 1933 to 1936 as Minister for Lands and Fisheries.

A member of the government in charge of a Department of State is designated a minister of the Government (before 1977 this position was termed Minister of State). For distinction, Ministers of State (known before 1977 as Parliamentary Secretaries) – informally called junior ministers – are not Ministers of the Government, but assist those ministers in their departments. A minister without portfolio may be appointed to the Government who is not the head of a Department of State; this occurred during the period known in Ireland as the Emergency when Frank Aiken served as Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures from 1939 until 1945. The functions of government ministers are frequently transferred between departments during cabinet reshuffles or after elections. On occasion, a department of state will cease to exist, its functions being transferred to another department. Such defunct ministerial positions include the Ministers for Labour, Posts and Telegraphs, Public Service and Supplies.