Forming the next Irish Government - policies and personalities

Right, so you propose no legislation then…

Good to know. You just want SF to have some TikTok moments.

I notice the usual Govt defenders here have no excuse to why not 1 of the 95 in Govt or any of their reps were not available to discuss the crisis facing over 100,000 people.

All they seem to have is something something Sinn Fein

Given that we have cases before the court currently about whether or not the Constitution limits the number of Ministers, perhaps you could enlighten us to where in the Constitution, it is said that the Dail does more than elect the government and legislate?

It would be funny if the government went into the Dail Procedures Committee with legal advice to say that there is no Constitutional requirement for opposition time for them to talk about what they want.

Im scratching my head here asking what is your point? Micheál Martin is from Cork, oh ya he's going to give this county priority, you absolutely kidding yourself.

Dublin is economic driving force of our country and as such it enjoys favoritism by every government while the rest of country suffers.

The capital gets the bulk of investment, infrastructure, and job opportunities, while rural areas often struggle with poor services, fewer employment options, and slower development. Just look at the recent storm as the perfect example, would we see the same shambolic response by the government in Dublin?

And we have had super junior Ministers since 1994, what is your point? Hundreds of videos of SF reps asking them questions.

For the first time ever this week, we have some nonentity of a SF backbencher taking a court case as to what the Constitution says about our government and Dail can and cannot do. Surely I would have thought that our Sinn Fein representatives would be sticking to what our Constitution says? Or is it the usual SF approach, stick with the Constitution when SF wants but ignore the Constitution when SF wants? Talking out of both sides of their mouth, and walking both sides of the road?

So the Constitution is wrong? Is that what you are saying?

It clearly says that the roles of the Dail are to elect a government and to legislate, but you know better?

I am pointing out the hypocrisy inherent in the SF position, one minute sticking to the Constitution, the next running a cart and horse through it. They are a complete disgrace.

The default reaction of a good republican is to personally attack those who disagree with them.

Given that you are a self-admitted new registration and presumably very young (older people will generally have been on boards for a while, unless a re-reg), you might want to reflect further on your contribution

At the time we copied it, the UK cabinet system worked much more collaboratively than it does now. Cabinet discussed matters and made decisions, and a PM couldn't really function without bringing his cabinet along with him. To some extent he could massage this by appointing his own supporters to cabinet, but only to some exent — if the consensus in cabinet turned against him, he pretty much had to go.

That's in an extreme case — more usually the Prime Minister would steer a course designed to bring the majority of cabinet with him, so as to avoid this situation. The point is, he couldn't avoid paying attention to what cabinet, as a body, thought or wanted or decided.

Over time there has been a shift to a more presidential style, with relatively more authority accruing to the Prime Minister and those Ministers the PM favours, and relatively less to cabinet as a body. I can't remember who said that a hundred years ago, the position of UK PM was akin to being the captain of a football team but, now, it's much more akin to being the manager of the football club.

There has been a similar shift in Ireland, but it proceeded independently of the developments in the UK, and perhaps hasn't gone as far. (Though it reached a peak under Charlie Haughey, who was known to surprise his Ministers by publicly announcing "Government decisions" about matters that, in fact, the Government had never considered.)

Under the Constitution certain functions are reserved to the Government — the President acts on the advice of the Government, for example, not the advice of the Taoiseach. The Government is responsible to Dáil Éireann, and not to the Taoiseach, and under Art 28.4 it "shall meet and act as a collective authority". It exercises the executive power of the State (Art 28.2). There are no corresponding provisions in UK law setting out the functions of cabinet in the same way; it's all a matter of convention. So there's a constitutional floor for the role and authority of the Governent in Ireland that is missing for the cabinet in the UK.

The Constitution doesn't say that those are the only roles of Dáil Éireann.

In fact it says the opposite, assigning several other significant functions to the Dáil, including considering budget estimates; appropriating public money; appointing the Comptroller and Auditor General and considering his report; declaring war and assenting to participation in war; approving treaties; and removing judges for misbehaviour and incapacity.

The Dáil's powers over spending give it a high degree of negative control over the functions of the executive government and, in addition, because under Art 28.4 the Government is responsible to Dáil Éireann, even in non-financial matters the Dáil has oversight over the Government and can hold it to account.

You have yet to say what concrete issue recalling the Dail would solve… Just one will do @FrancieBrady

Article 28.4 is sufficiently met through confidence votes, there is no requirement in the Constitution for Parliamentary Questions.

Wasn't my point at all and you know that.

We have been carbon taxed to the point of unafordability and I thought that tax was supposed to to be used to get us ready infrastructuraly, so as our system of operating wouldn't be compromised so much by these events when they do happen. I can't see much of it so far. Creaking poles and old lines ready to break at the slightest bit of rough weather.

Carbon tax is low in Ireland, increases are baked in until the end of the decade. That means the funding for infrastructural responses to climate change are backended rather than frontloaded.

Furthermore, you can't fix everywhere at the same time, it will take maybe two more decades to climate change proof our infrastructure.

As always, I will defer to the expert opinion and Peregrinus's track record on matters constitutional is second to none here.

You were wrong about the constitution and a simple look at the Orieachtas TV archives will show you that in reality (unconstitutional or not) The Dáil is always used as a platform for questioning/scrutinising/calling to account the members of the government and indeed the actions of parliamentary representatives. A function YOU yourself wanted triggered as pointed out.

That is the end of that conversation or should be. If you have nothing new to offer then don't expect a response.