The Government of the 20th Dáil or the 14th Government of Ireland (14 March 1973 – 5 July 1977) was the

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 gover ...

formed after the 1973 general election held on 28 February 1973. It was a coalition government 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, known as the National Coalition, led by Liam Cosgrave as

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 ...

with

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 ...

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Tao ...

. It was the first time either of the parties had been in government since the Government of the 15th Dáil (1954–57), when they were in coalition with

Clann na Talmhan Clann na Talmhan (, "Family/Children of the land"; formally known as the ''National Agricultural Party'') was an Irish agrarian political party active between 1939 and 1965. Formation and growth Clann na Talmhan was founded on 29 June 1939 in ...

. The 14th Government lasted for days. The government was widely referred to as the "cabinet of all the talents".

14th Government of Ireland

Nomination of Taoiseach

The 20th Dáil first met on 14 March 1973. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil leader and outgoing Taoiseach Jack Lynch, and Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrave were both proposed. The nomination of Lynch was defeated with 69 votes in favour to 73 against, while the nomination of Cosgrave was carried with 72 in favour and 70 against. Cosgrave was 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, Liam Cosgrave proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil. They were appointed by the president on the same day. ;Changes to departments

Attorney General

On 14 March 1973, Declan Costello SC was appointed by the president as Attorney General on the nomination of the Taoiseach. On 19 May 1977, Costello resigned as Attorney General on his nomination by the government for appointment as a judge of the High Court and John M. Kelly SC was appointed as Attorney General.

Parliamentary Secretaries

On 14 March 1973, the Government appointed Parliamentary Secretaries on the nomination of the Taoiseach.

Actions of the government

The National Coalition restricted the power of the

National Council for Educational Awards The Higher Education and Training Awards Council ( ga, Comhairle na nDámhachtainí Ardoideachais agus Oiliúna) (HETAC), the legal successor to the ''National Council for Educational Awards'' (NCEA), granted higher education awards in Ireland b ...

. This forced the

National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance wi ...

and

Thomond College of Education, Limerick Thomond College of Education, Limerick (''Coláiste Oideachais Thuamhurnhan, Luimneach'' in Irish) was established in 1973 in Limerick, Ireland as the ''National College of Physical Education'' to train physical education teachers. The college ...

to apply to the National University of Ireland for the conferring of degrees and diplomas. It removed the requirement that

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 ...

be passed to obtain a Leaving Certificate; it also reformed the civil service by removing the requirement of knowledge in Irish and the mandatory retirement on marriage that many women faced during their civil service careers. In response to the assassination of the British Ambassador to Ireland Christopher Ewart-Biggs by the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

on 21 July, Cosgrave introduced a motion to declare a

national emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

under Article 28.3.3º of the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the fundamental law of Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democracy, is broadly within the traditi ...

created by an armed conflict. This was approved by the Dáil on 1 September by a vote of 70 to 65. This was followed by the introduction of the Emergency Powers Bill 1976.

Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (; 12 February 1911 – 21 March 1978) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician, judge and barrister who served as the fifth president of Ireland from December 1974 to October 1976. His birth name was registered in English ...

referred the Emergency Powers Bill to the Supreme Court. Minister of Defence Paddy Donegan described the president as a "thundering disgrace" for this decision. The Minister apologised and privately offered to resign. Cosgrave refused to accept his resignation. On 21 October, Fianna Fáil proposed a motion in the Dáil calling on the minister to resign, which was defeated. Ó Dálaigh viewed the refusal to remove the Minister was an affront to his office by the Government and resigned on 22 October 1976. The following week, Fianna Fáil proposed a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

in the government. This was countered by a motion of confidence in the government proposed by Cosgrave, which was carried on a vote of 73 to 67.; The controversy caused severe damage to the image of the government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Government Of The 20th Dail Coalition governments of Ireland Governments of Ireland 1973 establishments in Ireland 1977 disestablishments in Ireland Cabinets established in 1973 Cabinets disestablished in 1977 20th Dáil