Council of State (Ireland)
The Irish Council of State ( English Council of State ; Irish An Chomhairle Stáit ) is a political body that advises the Irish President and was created by the Constitution of Ireland . The Council of State also has the theoretical power to take over the President's duties on a temporary basis if these cannot be carried out by him or the Presidential Commission . The meeting place of the State Council is Áras an Uachtaráin .
composition
The State Council consists of a number of government officials who sit ex officio on that council, as well as a few former incumbents and up to seven people nominated by the President. The people who sit ex officio on the State Council are the legal government advisor and two people from each of the three areas of legislature , executive and judiciary .
In contrast to the other tasks that the President has to decide in consultation with the Cabinet, the seven people on the Council of State are solely responsible for his decision. These seven people remain on the State Council until the successor to the President takes over.
- Current list of State Council members
| Office | Current person (s) |
|---|---|
| "ex officio" | |
| Taoiseach (executive) | Enda Kenny |
| Tánaiste (executive) | Frances Fitzgerald |
| Ceann Comhairle (Legislature) | Seán Ó Fearghaíl |
| Cathaoirleach (legislature) | Denis O'Donovan |
| Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (Judiciary) | Susan Denham |
| President of the Court of Appeal (Judiciary) | Seán Ryan |
| President of the High Court (Judiciary) | Peter Kelly |
| legal government advisor ( Attorney General ) | Máire Whelan |
| "Former" | |
| former Irish President | Mary Robinson , Mary McAleese |
| former Taoisigh and President of the Executive Council | Liam Cosgrave , John Bruton , Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen |
| former chief judge | John L. Murray , Thomas A. Finlay and Ronan Keane |
| Determined by the president | |
| Michael Farrell, Deirdre Heenan, Catherine McGuinness, Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh, Ruairí McKiernan, Sally Mulready, Gerard Quinn | |
- (As of 2016)
tasks
The President is not bound by the proposals of the Council, but he must seek advice and every member of the Council of State must be given the opportunity to be heard. This practice is compulsory in the execution of all discretionary decisions of the President, with the exception of refusal to dissolve the Dáil Éireann. These are in detail:
- Commissioning an examination of the constitutionality of legislative proposals by the supreme court
- Confirmation of a draft law through a referendum
- Shortening of the time frame for legal confirmation in the Senate
- Convocation of an arbitration committee to decide whether a bill contains budget issues.
- A speech to Parliament
- A speech to the nation
Web links
- President of Ireland: Council of State (English)