What is the Oireachtas?
The Oireachtas is Ireland's parliament: the Dáil, the Seanad, and the President together. A plain-English guide to how the three parts fit, how that differs from the Government, and where DáilDex gets its data.
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Irish politics, explained without the jargon.
Evergreen guides to the Oireachtas, written for people who heard a term in the news and want a straight answer. No hot takes, no party spin, just the record explained clearly.
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Oireachtas basics
What is a TD in Ireland?
TD in Ireland means Teachta Dála: a Member of Dáil Éireann. There are 174 TDs, elected by PR-STV. How they are chosen, what they do, and how to follow yours.
What is the Dáil?
Dáil Éireann is the lower house of Ireland's parliament. A plain-English guide to how it fits with the Seanad and President, what happens on a sitting day, and why its votes affect daily life.
TD vs Senator
TD or Senator? Compare how each is elected, what powers they hold in the Oireachtas, and which role matters more for housing, health, and everyday issues.
How is the Seanad elected?
Seanad Éireann has 60 Senators: 43 from vocational panels, 6 from university graduates, and 11 Taoiseach nominees. A plain-English walkthrough of a system most voters never see on a ballot.
What is the Electoral Commission?
An Coimisiún Toghcháin is Ireland's independent electoral body, established in 2023. What it replaced, what it does on boundaries and referendums, and why it matters before you ever cast a vote.
Taoiseach vs President
The Taoiseach runs the Government; the President is head of State. Side-by-side comparison of how each is chosen, what each can do, and the misconceptions that confuse both roles.
President of Ireland
Who is Ireland's President, what the role actually involves, and how Catherine Connolly became the 10th Uachtarán. Constitutional powers, election rules, and how the office differs from the Taoiseach.
How does a bill become law in Ireland?
From First Stage introduction to presidential signing: a step-by-step guide to how a bill passes through the Dáil, Seanad, and becomes an Act of the Oireachtas.
Oireachtas committees explained
Oireachtas committees scrutinise bills and question ministers. A guide to Select, Joint, Special, and PAC committees and how they hold Government to account.
Irish political glossary
Plain-English meanings of Teachta Dála, Dáil, Taoiseach, Oireachtas, Independent Group TDs, and other Irish political terms you hear in the news.
Who is the Prime Minister of Ireland?
Ireland's prime minister is the Taoiseach. Who holds the job in 2026, how it is filled, and how it differs from the President.
What is a Taoiseach?
Taoiseach means chief or leader and is the title of Ireland's prime minister. Meaning, pronunciation, plural and history.
Who is the Tánaiste?
The Tánaiste is Ireland's deputy prime minister. Who holds the office in 2026, what it does, and the 2027 swap with the Taoiseach.
How many TDs are there in Ireland?
There are 174 TDs in Ireland, elected from 43 constituencies by PR-STV. How the number is set and how it compares with the Seanad.
Irish political titles explained
Taoiseach, Tánaiste, TD, Ceann Comhairle, Senator and Minister: what each Irish political title means and its UK or US equivalent.
Irish Government ministers and departments
Ireland's Cabinet has 15 members running 18 departments. Which Minister holds which department in 2026, and how Ministers of State fit in.
What is the Ceann Comhairle?
The Ceann Comhairle is the chair of the Dáil, Ireland's equivalent of the Speaker. Meaning, pronunciation, how they are chosen and what they do.
How to contact your TD
How to contact your TD in Ireland: find who represents you, email, phone or visit a clinic, and what to include so they can help.
Councillor vs TD vs Senator vs MEP
Councillors run local services, TDs make national laws, Senators review them and MEPs vote on EU law. Who to contact about which issue.
What is the HSE?
The HSE runs Ireland's public health service. What it does, its six health regions, and how the Minister and TDs hold it to account.
What does the Seanad do?
The Seanad reviews and amends Bills but can only delay them. What Senators do, the 90-day delay, money Bills, and the 2013 abolition vote.
What does the Attorney General do?
The Attorney General is the Government's legal adviser but is not in the Cabinet. Who holds the role, how chosen, and how it differs from the DPP.
How much do TDs get paid?
How TD pay works in Ireland: basic salary, additional Minister pay, travel and representation allowances, and where to check dated official rates.
Elections & voting
How PR-STV and transfers work
Ireland's voting system explained: the Droop quota, first preferences, surplus transfers, eliminations, and why ranking candidates 1, 2, 3 all the way down matters.
What is a Dáil by-election?
When a TD vacates a seat, the Dáil issues a writ for a by-election. Rules, timelines, single-seat PR-STV, and the Galway West example after Catherine Connolly became President.
How Irish referendums work
A plain-English guide to constitutional referendums in Ireland: the Bill, campaign claims, impartial information, who can vote and what happens after the count.
How to find your TD
How to find which TD represents your Irish constituency, how to contact them, and how to follow their votes, speeches and parliamentary questions.
Who can vote in Ireland?
Who can vote in Ireland at 18, and how the franchise changes for Dáil, European, presidential, referendum and local elections.
How a general election works in Ireland
How Irish general elections work: who calls one, the 30-day rules, PR-STV voting, the count and how a Taoiseach is chosen afterwards.
Immigration and emigration in Ireland
Who runs Irish immigration, work permits, asylum and citizenship, how many people arrive and leave, and how the Oireachtas oversees policy.
Ireland & Europe
Ireland's EU Presidency 2026
Ireland chairs the Council of the European Union from July to December 2026. What the Presidency does, the three programme pillars, county pairings with EU states, and how EU law reaches the Dáil.
What does the EU AI Act mean in Ireland?
Most of the EU AI Act began applying on 2 August 2026. A plain-English guide to Ireland's AI Office, national regulators, transparency rules, and what happens next.
How EU law reaches Ireland
A plain-English guide to how EU law is made and applied in Ireland, the difference between regulations and directives, and what TDs, Ministers and MEPs each do.
The Commission, Parliament and Council of the EU
How the Commission, Parliament and Council of the EU make law, and how they differ from the European Council.
Dáil dynamics
Independent Group TDs in Ireland
Who Independent Group TDs are, how they differ from the Regional Independent Group, why independents often hold the balance of power, and the current 34th Dáil list.
Political parties in Ireland
A plain-English guide to the parties in the 34th Dáil: who they are, where they sit politically, their European affiliations, and how PR-STV and coalitions shape Irish politics.
What is the Public Accounts Committee?
The PAC is the Dáil's public spending watchdog. What it examines, its powers with the Comptroller and Auditor General, what it cannot do, and why it matters when scandals hit the news.
Dáil guillotine and debate jargon
What a guillotine motion is, plus plain-English definitions of Leaders' Questions, the Order of Business, filibustering, and the pair system when TDs are away.
What is a Dáil confidence motion?
A confidence motion asks whether Dáil Éireann still supports the Government or a Minister. How the vote works, what happens if it is lost, and how to read the record without confusing it with a general election.
How do Parliamentary Questions work?
A plain-English guide to Parliamentary Questions in the Dáil: written and oral questions, admissibility, ministerial answers, transferred questions and how to follow the official record.
How is the Irish Government formed?
After a general election, parties negotiate a coalition, agree a Programme for Government, and seek a Dáil confidence vote before cabinet is appointed.
How does the Irish budget work?
Ireland’s annual budget sets tax and spending for the coming year. How Budget 2027 is being prepared, what happens on 6 October 2026, how Finance Bills work, and what a defeat means.
What is Ireland's National Development Plan?
Ireland's National Development Plan is the long-term plan for public investment in housing, transport, water, energy and public services. How it connects to the Budget and what the €275.4bn plan means.
How does planning connect to housing?
Ireland's National Planning Framework, regional strategies and local plans all shape where homes can be built. How planning connects to housing, infrastructure and the National Development Plan.
How to read a Dáil vote
A plain-English guide to a Dáil division: Tá and Níl, amendments, party whips, absent TDs, pairing, and the official record behind a vote alert.
Study & research
The Irish Constitution explained
Bunreacht na hÉireann in plain English: how the 1937 Constitution is organised, which Articles cover each institution, where rights live, and how referendums change it.
Separation of powers in Ireland
How the Irish Constitution divides legislative, executive and judicial power, why the Government sits inside the Oireachtas, and the checks each branch has on the others.
Ireland, the UK and the US compared
Ireland's parliamentary system compared with Westminster and the US presidential model: constitutions, elections, heads of state, courts and how governments fall.
How local government works in Ireland
Ireland's 31 local authorities explained: what councillors decide, what the chief executive does, how local elections work, and Limerick's directly elected mayor.
Accountability bodies in Ireland
Who watches the State? A governance guide to the C&AG, the Ombudsman, SIPO, Freedom of Information, the lobbying register and Oireachtas oversight.
How to research Irish politics
A primary-source toolkit for students: Dáil debates, votes, parliamentary questions, Bills, committee reports, Oireachtas research, open data and the Statute Book.
How to cite Dáil debates and Irish law
Reference patterns for Dáil and Seanad debates, votes, parliamentary questions, committee reports, Acts, Bills and the Constitution, in Harvard style and OSCOLA Ireland.
The nine grounds of discrimination in Ireland
The nine grounds under the Equal Status Acts, with plain examples for Junior Cycle CSPE.
The Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive
How the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are chosen, for Leaving Cert Politics and Society.
Strengths and weaknesses of Irish democracy
Strengths and limits of Irish democracy for CSPE and Politics and Society, with 2024 election turnout.
The courts in Ireland
Ireland's courts from the District Court to the Supreme Court, plus one line on judicial review.
CSPE action project ideas using the Dáil
CSPE action-project ideas that use the Dáil: write to a TD, follow a Bill, or run a mock count.
Sources of Irish law
Sources of Irish law: the Constitution, Acts, statutory instruments, EU law and common law.
Guides covering Oireachtas basics, elections, Dáil procedure and Ireland in Europe. All grounded in the official record DáilDex monitors.
For students
Studying CSPE, Politics and Society, PPE or governance?
Study paths by level, primary-source research and citation guides, and Dex prompts built for revision.
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