Government of the 22nd Dáil

The Government of the 22nd Dáil or the 17th Government of Ireland (30 June 1981 – 9 March 1982) was the government of Ireland formed after the 1981 general election. It was a minority coalition government of Fine Gael and the Labour Party led by Garret FitzGerald as Taoiseach.

Government of the 22nd Dáil
17th Government of Ireland
Garret FitzGerald arriving for The Lisbon Treaty Count
Date formed	30 June 1981
Date dissolved	9 March 1982
People and organisations
President	Patrick Hillery
Taoiseach	Garret FitzGerald
Tánaiste	Michael O'Leary
Total no. of members	15
Member parties	Fine Gael Labour Party
Status in legislature	Minority Coalition
Opposition party	Fianna Fáil
Opposition leader	Charles Haughey
History
Election(s)	1981 general election
Legislature term(s)	22nd Dáil 15th Seanad
Predecessor	16th Government
Successor	18th Government

The 17th Government lasted for 252 days.

17th Government of Ireland

Nomination of Taoiseach

The members of the 22nd Dáil first met on 30 June 1981. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil leader and outgoing Taoiseach Charles Haughey, and Fine Gael leader Garret FitzGerald were both proposed.[1] The nomination of Haughey was defeated with 79 votes in favour to 83 against, while the nomination of FitzGerald was carried with 81 in favour and 78 against. FitzGerald was then appointed as Taoiseach by President Patrick Hillery.[2]

30 June 1981 Nomination of Garret FitzGerald (FG) as Taoiseach[3] Motion proposed by Oliver J. Flanagan and seconded by Ivan Yates Absolute majority: 84/166
Vote	Parties	Votes
Yes	Fine Gael (65), Labour Party (15), Independent (1)	81 / 166
No	Fianna Fáil (78)	78 / 166
Not voting	Ceann Comhairle (1), Socialist Labour Party (1), Sinn Féin – Workers' Party (1), Independent Fianna Fáil (1), Independent (1)	5 / 166
In prison	Anti H-Block (2)	2 / 166

Members of the Government

After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Garret FitzGerald proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil.[2] They were appointed by the president on the same day.[4]

Office	Name	Term	Party
Taoiseach	Garret FitzGerald	1981–1982		Fine Gael
Tánaiste	Michael O'Leary	1981–1982		Labour Party
Minister for Industry and Energy[lower-alpha 1]
Minister for Agriculture	Alan Dukes	1981–1982		Fine Gael
Minister for Defence	James Tully	1981–1982		Labour
Minister for Education	John Boland	1981–1982		Fine Gael
Minister for the Environment	Peter Barry	1981–1982		Fine Gael
Minister for Finance	John Bruton	1981–1982		Fine Gael
Minister for Fisheries and Forestry	Tom Fitzpatrick	1981–1982		Fine Gael
Minister for Foreign Affairs	John Kelly	1981 (acting)		Fine Gael
Minister for the Gaeltacht	Paddy O'Toole	1981–1982		Fine Gael
Minister for Health	Eileen Desmond	1981–1982		Labour Party
Minister for Social Welfare
Minister for Justice	Jim Mitchell	1981–1982		Fine Gael
Minister for Labour	Liam Kavanagh	1981–1982		Labour Party
Minister for the Public Service
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs	Patrick Cooney	1981–1982		Fine Gael
Minister for Transport
Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism[lower-alpha 2]	John Kelly	1981–1982		Fine Gael
Change 21 October 1981 Appointment of Sen. James Dooge, whose nomination had to await until after the election to Seanad Éireann.[7][8]
Office	Name	Term	Party
Minister for Foreign Affairs	James Dooge	1981–1982		Fine Gael

Notes

1. On 21 August 1981, the Department of Energy was renamed as the Department of Industry and Energy.[5]
2. On 21 August 1981, the Department of Industry, Commerce and Tourism was renamed as the Department of Trade, Commerce and Tourism.[6]

Attorney General

On 30 July 1981, Peter Sutherland SC was appointed by the president as Attorney General on the nomination of the Taoiseach.[2][4]

Ministers of State

On 30 June 1981, the Government appointed Ministers of State on the nomination of the Taoiseach.[4]

Name	Department(s)	Responsibility	Party
Gerry L'Estrange	Taoiseach	Government Chief Whip		Fine Gael
	Defence	Defence
Edward Collins	Industry and Energy	Oil and Minerals Exploration		Fine Gael
Fergus O'Brien	Environment	Housing		Fine Gael
Donal Creed	Health	Health		Fine Gael
Mary Flaherty	Health Social Welfare	Poverty and the Family		Fine Gael
Joseph Bermingham	Finance	Office of Public Works		Labour
Barry Desmond	Finance	Economic Planning		Labour
Paddy Harte	Posts and Telegraphs	Telecommunications		Fine Gael
Michael Begley	Trade, Commerce and Tourism	Tourism		Fine Gael
Michael Keating	Education	Youth and Sport		Fine Gael
Dick Spring	Justice	Law Reform		Labour
Michael D'Arcy	Agriculture	Production and Marketing		Fine Gael
Ted Nealon	Agriculture	Western Development		Fine Gael
Jim O'Keeffe	Foreign Affairs	Overseas Development		Fine Gael
Changes 11 November 1981 Reshuffle.[9]
Name	Department(s)	Responsibility	Party
Fergus O'Brien	Taoiseach	Government Chief Whip		Fine Gael
	Defence	Defence
Donal Creed	Environment	Housing		Fine Gael
Gerry L'Estrange	Health	Health		Fine Gael

Confidence in the government

On 27 January 1982, the Minister for Finance John Bruton proposed the budget.[10] The budget was defeated with 81 votes cast in favour and 82 votes cast against.[11] The Taoiseach sought a dissolution of the Dáil, which was granted by the president, leading to the February 1982 general election.

See also

• Dáil Éireann
• Constitution of Ireland
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland

Footnotes

1. "Nomination of Taoiseach – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Tuesday, 30 June 1981". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
2. "Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Tuesday, 30 June 1981". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
3. "Nomination of Taoiseach – Votes – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Tuesday, 10 June 1981". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
4. "Appointment of Ministers and Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Tuesday, 7 July 1981". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
5. "Energy (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1981". Irish Statute Book. 19 August 1981. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
6. "Industry, Commerce and Tourism (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1981". Irish Statute Book. 19 August 1981. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
7. "Nomination of Member of Government: Motion – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Tuesday, 20 October 1981". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 1 February 2020.; "Nomination of Member of Government: Motion (Resumed) – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Wednesday, 21 October 1981". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 1 February 2020.; "Nomination of Member of Government: Motion (Resumed) – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Wednesday, 21 October 1981". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
8. "Appointment of Minister – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Thursday, 22 October 1981". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
9. "Resignations and Appointments of Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Wednesday, 11 November 1981". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
10. "Financial Resolutions, 1982 - Financial Statement, Budget, 1982 – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Wednesday, 27 January 1982". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
11. "Financial Resolutions, 1982 - Financial Statement, Budget, 1982 – Dáil Éireann (22nd Dáil) – Wednesday, 27 January 1982". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 1 February 2020.