There were two governments in the

18th Dáil 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

, which was elected at the 1965 general election held on 7 April 1965. Both were single-party

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 Christia ...

governments, which had been in government since the 1957 election. The 11th government of Ireland (21 April 1965 – 10 November 1966) was led by

Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of 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 legislature) and the o ...

and lasted for days. The 12th government of Ireland (10 November 1966 – 2 July 1969) was led by Jack Lynch as Taoiseach and lasted for days.

11th government of Ireland

Nomination of Taoiseach

The

first met on 21 April 1965. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil leader and outgoing Taoiseach

, Fine Gael leader James Dillon, and Labour Party leader

Brendan Corish Brendan Corish (19 November 1918 – 17 February 1990) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste and Minister for Health from 1973 to 1977, Leader of the Labour Party, Minister for Social Welfare from 1954 to 1957 and from ...

were each proposed. The nomination of Lemass was carried with 72 votes in favour and 67 votes against. Lemass was re-appointed as Taoiseach 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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

Members of the government

After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Seán Lemass proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil. They were appointed by the president on the same day. ;Change to department

Parliamentary Secretaries

On 21 April 1965, the government appointed the Parliamentary Secretaries on the nomination of the Taoiseach.

Confidence in the government

On 8 July 1966, Labour leader

and Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrave placed separate motions of no confidence in the government. They were debated as part of the debate on the summer adjournment. The motions were defeated, on votes of 50 to 66 and 54 to 66 respectively.

Resignation

Seán Lemass resigned as Fianna Fáil leader and Jack Lynch won the

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...

to succeed him on 9 November 1966. On the following day, Lemass resigned as Taoiseach.

12th government of Ireland

The 12th government was formed by Jack Lynch after the resignation of Seán Lemass.

Nomination of Taoiseach

On 10 November 1966, in the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil leader Jack Lynch, Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrave, and Labour Party leader

were each proposed. The nomination of Lynch was carried with 71 votes in favour and 64 votes against. Lynch was appointed as Taoiseach by

Members of the government

After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Seán Lemass proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil on 16 November 1966. They were appointed by the president on the same day.

Parliamentary Secretaries

On 16 November 1966, the government appointed the Parliamentary Secretaries on the nomination of the Taoiseach.

Constitutional referendums

The government proposed the

Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968 The Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968 was a bill (no. 5 of 1968) to amend the Constitution of Ireland to change the criteria for redistribution of constituencies for elections to Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas. T ...

, which would have allowed for divergence in the ratio of population to representation across

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, ...

, and the

Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968 The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968 was a bill (no. 6 of 1968) to amend the Constitution of Ireland to alter the electoral system from proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) to first-past-th ...

, which would have altered the electoral system from

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

by means of the

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate ...

(PR-STV) to

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

(FPTP). They were put to referendums on 16 October 1968, and both were defeated by a margin of 39.2% to 60.8%. It was the second time a

government had proposed to introduce FPTP, with a previous referendum defeated in 1959.

Confidence in the government

On 5 November 1968, Taoiseach Jack Lynch proposed a motion of confidence in the government, which was debated over three days. On 7 November, it was approved on a vote of 68 to 60.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Government Of The 18th Dail Governments of Ireland 1965 establishments in Ireland 1969 disestablishments in Ireland Cabinets established in 1965 Cabinets disestablished in 1969 18th Dáil