Cathaoirleach (;

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

for

chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

, the sixty-member upper house of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

, the legislature of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The current Cathaoirleach, who has held the office since 16 December 2022, is

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

Senator

Jerry Buttimer Jerry Buttimer (born 18 March 1967) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann since December 2022. He has served as a Senator for the Labour Panel since 2016, and previously from 2007 to 2011. He served ...

Powers and functions

The Cathaoirleach is the sole judge of order, and has a range of powers and functions, namely: *Calls on members to speak and all speeches must be addressed to the Chair. *Puts such questions to the House as are required, supervises Divisions and declares the results. *Has authority to suppress disorder, to enforce prompt obedience to Rulings and may order members to withdraw from the House or name them for suspension by the House itself for a period. *In the case of great disorder can suspend or adjourn the House. The Cathaoirleach is also an member of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

, which advises the

president of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

in the exercise of their discretionary powers, and of the Presidential Commission, which performs the powers and functions of the office of president in their absence.

List of office-holders

Cathaoirleach

This list includes the

panel Panel may refer to: Arts and media Visual arts * Panel (comics), a single image in a comic book, comic strip or cartoon; also, a comic strip containing one such image *Panel painting, in art, either one element of a multi-element piece of art ...

(since 1938) and

political affiliation A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

of each Cathaoirleach, as well as the number of their Seanad Éireann and time they spent in the position.

Leas-Chathaoirleach

The Cathaoirleach's deputy is the .

References

External links

* {{Irish Free State Lists of members of Seanad Éireann Titles of national or ethnic leadership Seanad Éireann