The November 1982 Irish general election to the
24th Dáil
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* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
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* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
was held on Wednesday, 24 November, three weeks after the
dissolution
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* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
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* Dissolution, in mu ...
of the
23rd Dáil
Third or 3rd may refer to:
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* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
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* Hig ...
on 4 November by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
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* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Patrick Hillery
Patrick John Hillery ( ga, Pádraig J. Ó hIrghile; 2 May 1923 – 12 April 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the sixth president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990. He also served as vice-president of the Euro ...
, on the request of
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Charles Haughey
Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...
following a defeat of the government in a
motion of confidence. The general election took place in 41
Dáil constituencies
There are 39 multi-member electoral districts, known as Dáil constituencies, that elect 160 TDs (members of parliament), to Dáil Éireann, Ireland's lower house of the Oireachtas, or parliament, by means of the single transferable vote, ...
throughout Ireland for 166 seats in
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
, the house of representatives 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 24th Dáil met at
Leinster House
Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...
on 14 December to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new
government of Ireland
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...
.
Garret FitzGerald
Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...
was appointed Taoiseach, forming the
19th Government of Ireland
19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number.
Mathematics
19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...
, a
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
of
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 ...
and the
Labour Party.
Campaign
The second general election of 1982 took place just nine months after
the election in February of the same year. There had never before been three general elections within eighteen months.
The general election was caused by the loss of support of the Independent TD
Tony Gregory
Tony Gregory (5 December 1947 – 2 January 2009) was an Irish independent politician, and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituency from 1982 to 2009.
Early life
Gregory was born in Ballybough on Dublin's Northside, the secon ...
and the
Workers' Party for the
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
government. This was due to the government introducing substantial budget cuts, which the left-wing
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
(TDs) would not support. While economic issues dominated the campaign, the parties were weary of having to fight yet another general election.
Result
Independents include
Independent Fianna Fáil
Independent Fianna Fáil was a splinter republican party in the Republic of Ireland created by Neil Blaney after his expulsion from Fianna Fáil following the Irish Arms Crisis (1969–1970). The party ceased to exist on 26 July 2006. It was ne ...
(7,997 votes, 1 seat).
Voting summary
Seats summary
Government formation
Fine Gael and the Labour Party formed the
19th Government of Ireland
19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number.
Mathematics
19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...
, a majority coalition.
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 ...
recorded its best election result until
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, coming within five seats of Fianna Fáil; at other times (such as
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
) Fianna Fáil had been twice as big as Fine Gael. The
Labour Party had a new leader with
Dick Spring
Dick Spring (born 29 August 1950) is an Irish businessman and former politician. He was a Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North from 1981 to 2002. He became leader of the Labour Party in 1982, and held this position until 1997 ...
. A programme for government was quickly drawn up and
Garret FitzGerald
Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...
of Fine Gael became Taoiseach for the second time. The poor showing for Fianna Fáil resulted in a leadership challenge to
Charles Haughey
Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...
by his opponents within the party. Haughey won the vote of confidence and remained as leader.
Dáil membership changes
The following changes took place as a result of the election:
*5 outgoing TDs retired
*1 vacant seat at election time
*159 outgoing TDs stood for re-election (also
John O'Connell, the outgoing
Ceann Comhairle
The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session a ...
who was automatically returned)
**138 of those were re-elected
**21 failed to be re-elected
*27 successor TDs were elected
**18 were elected for the first time
**9 had previously been TDs
*There were 6 successor female TDs, increasing the total by 6 to 14.
*There were changes in 22 of the 41 constituencies contested
Where more than one change took place in a constituency the concept of successor is an approximation for presentation only.
See also
*
Members of the 24th Dáil
The 24th Dáil was elected at the November 1982 general election on 24 November 1982 and met on 14 December 1982. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Ireland are known as TDs. On 20 ...
*
Government of the 24th Dáil
The Government of the 24th Dáil or the 19th Government of Ireland (14 December 1982 – 10 March 1987) was the government of Ireland formed after the November 1982 general election. It was a coalition government of Fine Gael and the Labour P ...
Notes
References
External links
November 1982 election: Party leaders' debateRTÉ archives
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:1982 11 Irish general election
Irish general election, 1982b
1982 in Irish politics
1982b
24th Dáil
November 1982 events in Europe
1982 elections in the Republic of Ireland