The 29th government of Ireland (9 March 2011 – 6 May 2016) 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 ...
which was formed following the
2011 general election to the
31st Dáil on 25 February 2011. 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
Enda Kenny 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 ...
. From 2011 to 2014,
Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore
Eamon Gilmore (born 24 April 1955) is an Irish diplomat and former Labour Party politician. He has served as European Union Special Representative for Human Rights since February 2019. He has also been the European Union Special Envoy for th ...
served as
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 ...
, and from 2014 to 2016, the new Labour leader
Joan Burton
Joan Burton (born 1 February 1949) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste and Leader of the Labour Party from 2014 to 2016, Minister for Social Protection from 2011 to 2016, Deputy leader of the Labour Party fro ...
served as Tánaiste.
It lasted from its appointment until its resignation, and continued to carry out its duties for a further 57 days until the appointment of the successor government, giving a total of in office.
Nomination of Taoiseach
The
31st Dáil first met on 9 March 2011. In the
debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, only
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny was proposed. This proposal was carried with 117 votes in favour and 27 votes against, the greatest number of votes cast in the Dáil in favour of the nomination of a candidate for Taoiseach. Kenny 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:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...
.
Government ministers

After his appointment by the president, Enda Kenny proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil.
;Changes to departments
Attorney General
On 9 March 2011,
Máire Whelan SC was appointed 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 ...
by the president on the nomination of the Taoiseach.
Ministers of state
On 9 March 2011,
Paul Kehoe and
Willie Penrose were appointed by the government on the nomination of the Taoiseach as
ministers of state
Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior ministers ...
who would attend cabinet without a vote. On 10 March 2011, the government on the nomination of the Taoiseach appointed 13 further ministers of state.
Economic Management Council
The Economic Management Council was a cabinet subcommittee of senior ministers formed to co-ordinate the response to the
Irish financial crisis and the government's dealings with the
troika of the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
, the
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central component of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#International ...
and the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
.
Its members were the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Finance, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. It was supported by the
Department of the Taoiseach
The Department of the Taoiseach () is the government department of the Taoiseach, the title in Ireland for the head of government.Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1° of the Constitution of Ireland. The latter provision reads: "The head of the ...
, led by
Dermot McCarthy. Brigid Laffan compared it to a
war cabinet. Opposition parties suggested the Council represented a dangerous concentration of power.
Following the
formation of a government in 2016,
Shane Ross, an incoming member of the new
30th Government of Ireland
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
, confirmed in the Dáil that the subcommittee would not form part of the new government. Ross told the Dáil on 6 May 2016: "I had a conversation last night with the Taoiseach. I was talking to him about Dáil reform and I asked him about an issue – a last point I had forgotten to ask about earlier – which was the abolition of the Economic Management Council. I thought it was going to be like one of these thorny topics which we had been through over the last few weeks. He told me okay, it is gone, that it had been needed for a particular time and it is not needed any more and I was to consider it gone. To me that was very encouraging because it meant that one of those obstacles to Dáil reform, one of those rather secretive bodies that had dictated to the Cabinet and to the Dáil the agenda of what came out to the country, was now a thing of the past."
Budgets
The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, delivered the following budgets:
*
2012 budget, on 5 and 6 December 2011
*
2013 budget, on 5 December 2012
*
2014 budget, on 15 October 2013
*
2015 budget, on 14 October 2014
*
2016 budget, on 13 October 2015
Motions of confidence
On 18 September 2012,
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 ...
TD
Billy Kelleher proposed 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
Minister for Health
A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...
,
James Reilly. The debate was noted for the contribution on the second day of debate of
Róisín Shortall, a
Minister of State at the Department of Health, who voted with the government, but did not mention the minister. Following amendment, this was debated a motion commending the work of the minister, and was approved by a vote of 99 to 50. Those voting against the government included
Tommy Broughan and
Patrick Nulty, who had been elected as
Labour Party TDs, and
Denis Naughten, who had been elected as a
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 ...
TD and had left in protest at closure of services at the
Roscommon University Hospital. Shortall resigned as a junior minister and from the Labour Parliamentary Party the following week.
On 11 December 2012,
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
TD
Pearse Doherty proposed a motion of no confidence in the government, stating that it had "failed to fulfil its obligations to make political decisions and choices which benefit the citizens of this State".
Brendan Howlin
Brendan Howlin (born 9 May 1956) is an Irish former Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), Leader of the Labour Party from 2016 to 2020, Minister for Public Expenditure, National Devel ...
, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, proposed an amendment such that the motion read, "That Dáil Éireann has confidence in the Government as it deals with the current economic crisis in as fair a manner as possible, while prioritising economic recovery and job creation". Debate continued the following day. The amended motion was carried by a vote of 88 to 51. Those voting against the government included Róisín Shortall.
On 1 April 2014, Fiann Fáil TD
Niall Collins proposed a motion of no confidence in the
Minister for Justice and Equality,
Alan Shatter
Alan Joseph Shatter (born 14 February 1951) is an Irish lawyer, author and former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2014. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin S ...
. Following amendment, this was debated a motion commending the work of the minister. Debate continued on 2 April, and the amended motion was carried by a vote of 95 to 51. This was just over a month before Shatter resigned on the submission of the
Guerin Report to the Taoiseach.
On 9 December 2014, the Dáil debated a motion of confidence in the Taoiseach and in the government. This motion was proposed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in response to a motion of no confidence proposed by Sinn Féin, which referred to "the widespread public opposition to domestic water charges and to
Irish Water". The vote of confidence was carried by a vote of 86 to 55. Those voting against included
Lucinda Creighton,
Peter Mathews and
Billy Timmins, who had been elected as
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 ...
TDs.
Dissolution and resignation
On 3 February 2016, Taoiseach Enda Kenny sought a dissolution of the Dáil which was granted by the
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 ...
, with the new Dáil to convene on 10 March. The
general election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
took place on 26 February.
The
32nd Dáil
The 32nd Dáil was elected at the 2016 Irish general election, 2016 general election on 26 February and first met at 10.30 a.m. on 10 March 2016. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of ...
first met on 10 March 2016. Enda Kenny,
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...
,
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams
Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...
, and
Richard Boyd Barrett of the
Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit were each proposed for nomination as Taoiseach. None of the four motions were successful. Kenny announced that he would resign as Taoiseach but that under the provisions of Article 28.11 of the Constitution, the government would continue to carry out their duties until their successors were appointed.
Constitution of Ireland
The Constitution of Ireland (, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executi ...
, Article 28.11 Kenny continued in this capacity until 6 May 2016, when he was again nominated for the appointment by the president to the position of Taoiseach and formed the
30th Government of Ireland
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Government of the 30th Dail
2011 establishments in Ireland
2016 disestablishments in Ireland
31st Dáil
Cabinets established in 2011
Cabinets disestablished in 2016
Coalition governments of Ireland
Governments of Ireland