Executive Council of the Irish Free State
Encyclopedia
The Executive Council was the cabinet
and de facto executive branch of government of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State
. Formally, the role of the Executive Council was to "aid and advise" the Governor-General
who would exercise the executive authority on behalf of the King
. In practice, however, it was the Council that governed, since the Governor-General was (with few exceptions) bound to act on its advice. The Executive Council included a prime minister called the President of the Executive Council
and a deputy prime minister called the Vice-President
.
The President of the Executive was appointed by the Governor-General after being nominated by Dáil Éireann
, the lower house of the Oireachtas
(parliament), and the remaining cabinet ministers were nominated by the President. The Executive Council could also be removed by a vote of no confidence in the Dáil.
provided that executive authority would be 'vested' in the King and exercised by his Governor General. However under Article 51 this power was only exercisable "in accordance with the law, practice and constitutional usage governing the exercise of the Executive Authority in the case of the Dominion of Canada
". In practice this meant that, as in Canada, the Governor-General was in most cases required to act on the advice of the Executive Council. Thus, it was the cabinet in which true authority lay. In addition to exercising the executive authority the Executive Council, by advising the Governor General, had the exclusive right to
Once the President of the Executive Council had been appointed he nominated the Vice President himself. The remaining cabinet ministers were also nominated by the President but had be approved by a vote of consent in the Dáil. Initially the constitution provided that the Executive Council would consist of between five and seven ministers (not including its president) but under a constitutional amendment adopted in 1927 this maximum limit was increased to twelve. Similarly, initially it was required that all cabinet members hold seats in the Dáil, but an amendment in 1929 provided that one member could be a senator
.
In the event that the Executive Council ceased to "retain the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann" the entire cabinet was obliged to resign en masse, however they were permitted to remain in office as acting ministers until the appointment of successors. The fact that an Executive Council that had lost the confidence of the Dáil could not request a dissolution created the possibility of a political stalemate. It meant that if the Executive Council resigned after being defeated, and the Dáil could not agree on a new Council, a Catch-22
situation might be created, in which the inability of the Dáil to chose a cabinet could not be resolved by the holding of a general election
. Unlike the modern Taoiseach
of Ireland
, the President of the Executive Council did not have authority to dismiss ministers individually. Rather, to dismiss a single member, the whole council had to be dismissed and reformed en bloc. Additionally, the President of the Council could not ask the Governor-General to dissolve the Dáil on his own initiative, but the Council as a whole had to do so. This meant that the position of the President was weaker than that of most modern prime ministers, and he was its chairman as much as he was its leader.
of the Irish Republic
and the Provisional Government. The Irish Free State had the status of a dominion
of the British Commonwealth
and the Irish Executive Council derived its name from organs of government found in other dominions. However it differed from the 'executive councils' of other nations. Firstly, it was a cabinet, whereas the Executive Councils of Australia
and New Zealand
each serve a role closer to that of a privy council
. Secondly, whereas in the Free State the President of the Executive Council was the head of government, in Australia it is the Governor General who is formally its president, although he need not attend all of its meetings. Contrary to the practice in New Zealand and Australia, the executive councils of the provinces of Canada
are closer in role to the Free State cabinet, and are presided over by each province's premier
.
As a result of the Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936, the office of Governor General was abolished. For the remaining months of the Irish Free State the executive authority and a number of the Governor General's other functions were exercised by the Executive Council directly, but in practice this change was merely symbolic. The Executive Council itself was replaced in the 1937 by a new cabinet, called simply the 'Government', established under the new Constitution of Ireland
.
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
and de facto executive branch of government of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
. Formally, the role of the Executive Council was to "aid and advise" the Governor-General
Governor-General of the Irish Free State
The Governor-General was the representative of the King in the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. Until 1927 he was also the agent of the British government in the Irish state. By convention the office of Governor-General was largely ceremonial...
who would exercise the executive authority on behalf of the King
Monarchy in the Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was, in accordance with its constitution, governed formally under a form of constitutional monarchy. The British monarch was the head of state of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1931, when the Statute of Westminster came into effect, and thereafter the Irish Free State had a...
. In practice, however, it was the Council that governed, since the Governor-General was (with few exceptions) bound to act on its advice. The Executive Council included a prime minister called the President of the Executive Council
President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State
The President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State was the head of government or prime minister of the Irish Free State which existed from 1922 to 1937...
and a deputy prime minister called the Vice-President
Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State
The Vice-President of the Executive Council was the deputy head of government of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State, and the second most senior member of the Executive Council...
.
The President of the Executive was appointed by the Governor-General after being nominated by Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann (Irish Free State)
Dáil Éireann served as the directly elected lower house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1937. The Free State constitution described the role of the house as that of a "Chamber of Deputies". Until 1936 the Free State Oireachtas also included an upper house known as the Seanad...
, the lower house of the Oireachtas
Oireachtas of the Irish Free State
The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State was the legislature of the Irish Free State from 1922 until 1937. It was established by the 1922 Constitution of Ireland which was based from the Anglo-Irish Treaty...
(parliament), and the remaining cabinet ministers were nominated by the President. The Executive Council could also be removed by a vote of no confidence in the Dáil.
Overview
While the Free State constitutionConstitution of the Irish Free State
The Constitution of the Irish Free State was the first constitution of the independent Irish state. It was enacted with the adoption of the Constitution of the Irish Free State Act 1922, of which it formed a part...
provided that executive authority would be 'vested' in the King and exercised by his Governor General. However under Article 51 this power was only exercisable "in accordance with the law, practice and constitutional usage governing the exercise of the Executive Authority in the case of the Dominion of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
". In practice this meant that, as in Canada, the Governor-General was in most cases required to act on the advice of the Executive Council. Thus, it was the cabinet in which true authority lay. In addition to exercising the executive authority the Executive Council, by advising the Governor General, had the exclusive right to
- Convene and dissolve parliament - although this right could not be exercised by a cabinet which had lost the confidence of the Dáil.
- Command of the Defence ForcesIrish Defence ForcesThe armed forces of Ireland, known as the Defence Forces encompass the Army, Naval Service, Air Corps and Reserve Defence Force.The current Supreme Commander of the Irish Defence forces is His Excellency Michael D Higgins in his role as President of Ireland...
- although the cabinet could not involve the state in a war without the consent of the Oireachtas. - Appoint judges.
- Introduce a money billMoney billIn the Westminster system , a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending , as opposed to changes in public law.- Conventions :...
in the Oireachtas.
Once the President of the Executive Council had been appointed he nominated the Vice President himself. The remaining cabinet ministers were also nominated by the President but had be approved by a vote of consent in the Dáil. Initially the constitution provided that the Executive Council would consist of between five and seven ministers (not including its president) but under a constitutional amendment adopted in 1927 this maximum limit was increased to twelve. Similarly, initially it was required that all cabinet members hold seats in the Dáil, but an amendment in 1929 provided that one member could be a senator
Seanad Éireann (Irish Free State)
Seanad Éireann was the upper house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922–1936. It has also been known simply as the Senate, or as the First Seanad. The Senate was established under the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State but a number of constitutional amendments were...
.
In the event that the Executive Council ceased to "retain the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann" the entire cabinet was obliged to resign en masse, however they were permitted to remain in office as acting ministers until the appointment of successors. The fact that an Executive Council that had lost the confidence of the Dáil could not request a dissolution created the possibility of a political stalemate. It meant that if the Executive Council resigned after being defeated, and the Dáil could not agree on a new Council, a Catch-22
Catch-22 (logic)
A Catch-22, coined by Joseph Heller in his novel Catch-22, is a logical paradox arising from a situation in which an individual needs something that can only be acquired with an action that will lead him to that very situation he is already in; therefore, the acquisition of this thing becomes...
situation might be created, in which the inability of the Dáil to chose a cabinet could not be resolved by the holding of a general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. Unlike the modern Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, the President of the Executive Council did not have authority to dismiss ministers individually. Rather, to dismiss a single member, the whole council had to be dismissed and reformed en bloc. Additionally, the President of the Council could not ask the Governor-General to dissolve the Dáil on his own initiative, but the Council as a whole had to do so. This meant that the position of the President was weaker than that of most modern prime ministers, and he was its chairman as much as he was its leader.
History
The Executive Council was established with the coming into force of the Free State constitution in 1922. It replaced two previous cabinets, the AireachtAireacht
The Aireacht or Ministry was the cabinet of the 1919–1922 Irish Republic. The Ministry was originally established by the Dáil Constitution adopted by the First Dáil in 1919, after it issued the Irish Declaration of Independence...
of the Irish Republic
Irish Republic
The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...
and the Provisional Government. The Irish Free State had the status of a dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
of the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
and the Irish Executive Council derived its name from organs of government found in other dominions. However it differed from the 'executive councils' of other nations. Firstly, it was a cabinet, whereas the Executive Councils of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
each serve a role closer to that of a privy council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
. Secondly, whereas in the Free State the President of the Executive Council was the head of government, in Australia it is the Governor General who is formally its president, although he need not attend all of its meetings. Contrary to the practice in New Zealand and Australia, the executive councils of the provinces of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
are closer in role to the Free State cabinet, and are presided over by each province's premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
.
As a result of the Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936, the office of Governor General was abolished. For the remaining months of the Irish Free State the executive authority and a number of the Governor General's other functions were exercised by the Executive Council directly, but in practice this change was merely symbolic. The Executive Council itself was replaced in the 1937 by a new cabinet, called simply the 'Government', established under the new Constitution of Ireland
Constitution of Ireland
The Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected...
.
List of Executive Councils
| Dáil | Election/Year formed | Council | President | Vice President | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | 1922 election Irish general election, 1922 The Irish general election of 1922 took place in Southern Ireland on 16 June 1922, under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the formal establishment of the Irish Free State... |
1st Executive Council | W. T. Cosgrave | Kevin O'Higgins Kevin O'Higgins Kevin Christopher O'Higgins was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice. He was part of early nationalist Sinn Féin, before going on to become a prominent member of Cumann na nGaedheal. O'Higgins initiated the An Garda Síochána police force... |
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970... (Pro-Treaty Anglo-Irish Treaty The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of... wing) |
|
| 4th | 1923 election Irish general election, 1923 The Irish general election of 1923 was held on 27 August 1923. The newly elected members of the 4th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 19 September when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed. The election was held just after the end... |
2nd Executive Council | Cumann na nGaedheal | |||
| 5th | 1927 (Jun) election | 3rd Executive Council | ||||
| 6th | 1927 (Sep) election | 4th Executive Council | Ernest Blythe Ernest Blythe Ernest Blythe was an Irish politician.Ernest Blythe was born to a Presbyterian and Unionist family near Lisburn, County Antrim in 1889, the son of a farmer, and was educated locally. At the age of fifteen he started working as a clerk in the Department of Agriculture in Dublin.Blythe joined the... |
|||
| 1930 | 5th Executive Council | |||||
| 7th | 1932 election Irish general election, 1932 The Irish general election of 1932 was held on 16 February 1932, just over two weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 29 January. The newly elected 153 members of the 7th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 9 March 1932 when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of... |
6th Executive Council | Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland... |
Seán T. O'Kelly Sean T. O'Kelly Seán Thomas O'Kelly was the second President of Ireland . He was a member of Dáil Éireann from 1918 until his election as President. During this time he served as Minister for Local Government and Minister for Finance... |
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál... |
|
| 8th | 1933 election Irish general election, 1933 The Irish general election of 1933 was held on 24 January 1933. The newly elected members of the 8th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 8 February when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed.... |
7th Executive Council | ||||
| 9th | 1937 election Irish general election, 1937 The Irish general election of 1937 was held on 1 July 1937, just over two weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 14 June. A plebiscite to ratify the Constitution of Ireland was held on the same day... |
8th Executive Council | ||||
See also
- Executive Council (Commonwealth countries)Executive Council (Commonwealth countries)An Executive Council in Commonwealth constitutional practice based on the Westminster system is a constitutional organ which exercises executive power and advises the governor or governor-general. Executive Councils often make decisions via Orders in Council.Executive Councillors are informally...
- Irish cabinets since 1919Irish cabinets since 1919-Republic of Ireland :The executive branch of the modern Republic of Ireland is known as the Government. However, since 1919, cabinets have functioned in the southern twenty-six counties of Ireland under two other names: the Aireacht of the 1919–1922 Irish Republic, and the Executive Council...
- History of the Republic of IrelandHistory of the Republic of IrelandThe Irish state originally came into being in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion of the British Commonwealth, having seceded from the United Kingdom under the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It comprises of 26 of Ireland's 32 counties...
External links
- Constitution of the Irish Free State - full text from official Houses of the Oireachtas website.