The 19th government of Ireland (14 December 1982 – 10 March 1987) was the
government of Ireland
The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...
formed after the
November 1982 general election to the
24th Dáil. It was a
coalition government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
of
Fine Gael
Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...
and the
Labour Party led by
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 an ...
as
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 nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
and lasted for .
Nomination of Taoiseach
The
24th Dáil first met on 14 December 1982. In the debate on the
nomination of Taoiseach, the
Fianna Fáil leader and outgoing Taoiseach
Charles Haughey
Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...
, and
Fine Gael leader 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 an ...
were both proposed. The nomination of Haughey was defeated with 77 votes in favour to 88 against, while the nomination of FitzGerald was carried with 85 in favour and 79 against. FitzGerald was then 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:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Patrick Hillery
Patrick John Hillery (; 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 European Commission and Europea ...
.
Government ministers
After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Garret FitzGerald proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil.
They were appointed by the president on the same day.
;Notes
Attorney General
On 14 December 1982,
Peter Sutherland
Peter Denis Sutherland (25 April 1946 – 7 January 2018) was an Irish businessman, barrister and Fine Gael politician who served as UN Special Representative for International Migration from 2006 to 2017. He was known for serving in various in ...
SC was appointed by the president as
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
on the nomination of the Taoiseach.
[ He resigned as Attorney General on 12 December 1984 on his nomination as European Commissioner. On 13 December 1984, John Rogers SC was appointed by the president as Attorney General on the nomination of the Taoiseach.
]
Ministers of state
On 14 December 1982, the Government on the nomination of the Taoiseach appointed Seán Barrett to the post of Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
I ...
.[ On 16 December 1982, the Government appointed the other Ministers of State on the nomination of the Taoiseach.
]
Confidence in the government
After the February 1986 reshuffle, including the failure of FitzGerald to move Barry Desmond
Barry Desmond (born 15 May 1935) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who was Minister for Health from 1982 to 1987 and Minister for Social Welfare from 1982 to 1986. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1969 to 1989, a Minister of St ...
from the Department of Health and having misinformed the Dáil about the resignation of ministers of state who were subsequently sacked, Charles Haughey
Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...
sought to move a motion of no confidence
A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
in the government. This was debated as a motion of confidence in the Taoiseach, proposed by Tánaiste
The Tánaiste ( , ) is the second-ranking member of the government of Ireland and the holder of its second-most senior office. It is the equivalent of the deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems.
The Tánaiste is appointed by the P ...
Dick Spring
Richard Martin Spring (born 29 August 1950) is an Irish former Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1982 to 1987, 1992 to November 1994, and December 1994 to 1997, Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), L ...
. The motion of confidence was carried on 21 February 1986 by a vote of 82 to 77.
In June 1986, Joseph Bermingham had resigned from the Labour Party, leaving the coalition parties in a minority. In October 1986, moved a motion of no confidence in the government. This was debated as a motion of confidence in the Taoiseach and the government, proposed by Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald. The motion of confidence was carried on 23 October 1986 by a vote of 83 to 81. Bermingham voted with the government; Seán Treacy, who had resigned from Labour in February 1985, voted with the opposition.
Government policy
The "republican crusade" flagged by Garret Fitzgerald when he was previously in government in 1981 was progressed with some changes in policy on Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
and social issues.
Economics
The government resorted to high marginal tax rate
In a tax system, the tax rate is the ratio (usually expressed as a percentage) at which a business or person is taxed. The tax rate that is applied to an individual's or corporation's income is determined by tax laws of the country and can be in ...
s to curb the national debt
A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occ ...
, which had increased when spending commitments accrued under the 1977–81 government's expansion of the public sector became unsustainable after the 1979 energy crisis
A drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian revolution led to an energy crisis in 1979. Although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four percent, the oil markets' reaction raised the price of crude oil drastically ...
. High taxes and high unemployment brought a return to high net emigration, a long-established Irish flow which had temporarily reversed in the 1970s. An economic policy document, "Building on reality", was published in 1984.
Constitutional referendums
The Eighth Amendment to recognise the right to life of the unborn had been proposed by the previous government. It was adopted by the FitzGerald government, but not supported by Labour. An attempt to amend the wording was unsuccessful. The amendment was approved in a referendum in September 1983.
The Ninth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland permitted legislation to allow non-Irish citizens to vote in Dáil elections.
A referendum to ease the ban on divorce was defeated in 1986.
Contraception
A bill to ease restrictions on contraception was passed in 1985. The failure of Desmond O'Malley
Desmond Joseph O'Malley (2 February 1939 – 21 July 2021) was an Irish politician who served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1977 to 1981 and 1989 to 1992, Progressive Democrats, Leader ...
to vote against this legislation led to his expulsion from Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland.
Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
. O'Malley later established the Progressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats (, literally "The Democratic Party"), commonly referred to as the PDs, were a conservative liberal political party in Ireland. The party's history spanned 24 years, from its formation in 1985 to its dissolution in 20 ...
in December 1985.
Northern Ireland
The government's New Ireland Forum was a prelude to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
The Anglo-Irish Agreement was a 1985 treaty between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The treaty gave the Irish government an advisory role in Northern Irelan ...
signed in 1985.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Government of the 24th Dail
1982 establishments in Ireland
1987 disestablishments in Ireland
24th Dáil
Cabinets established in 1982
Cabinets disestablished in 1987
Coalition governments of Ireland
Governments of Ireland