Government of the 16th Dáil
Template:Short description Template:Use Hiberno-English Template:Use dmy dates There were two governments of the 16th Dáil, which was elected at the 1957 general election held on 5 March. The outgoing minority coalition government of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Clann na Talmhan had failed to be returned. The 8th government of Ireland (20 March 1957 – 23 June 1959) was led by Éamon de Valera as Taoiseach, until his election as president of Ireland at the 1959 election. It lasted for Template:Age in years and days from its appointment until de Valera's resignation on 17 June 1959, and continued to carry out its duties for a further 6 days until the appointment of its successor, giving a total of Template:Age in years and days. The 9th government of Ireland (23 June 1959 – 11 November 1961) was led by Seán Lemass as Taoiseach and lasted for Template:Age in years and days. Both were single-party Fianna Fáil governments.
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Nomination of Taoiseach
The 16th Dáil first met on 20 March 1957. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil leader Éamon de Valera was proposed and this motion was carried with 78 votes in favour and 53 votes against.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> De Valera was appointed as Taoiseach by President Seán T. O'Kelly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| 20 March 1957 Nomination of Éamon de Valera (FF) as Taoiseach<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Motion proposed by Seán Lemass and seconded by Seán MacEntee Absolute majority: 74/147 | ||
| Vote | Parties | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Tick Yes | Fianna Fáil (76), Independent (2) | Template:Composition bar |
| No | Fine Gael (39), Labour Party (10), Clann na Talmhan (3), Independent (1) | Template:Composition bar |
| Absent or Not voting |
Ceann Comhairle (1), Fianna Fáil (2), Fine Gael (1), Labour Party (1), Clann na Poblachta (1), Independent (6) | Template:Composition bar |
| Abstentionist | Sinn Féin (4) | Template:Composition bar |
Members of the Government
After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Éamon de Valera proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They were appointed by the president on the same day.<ref name=mapp8>Template:Cite web</ref>
Parliamentary Secretaries
On 21 March 1957, the Government appointed the Parliamentary Secretaries on the nomination of the Taoiseach.<ref name=mapp8 />
| Name | Office | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Donnchadh Ó Briain | Government Chief Whip | 1957–1959 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence | 1957–1959 | ||
| style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Michael Kennedy | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare | 1957–1959 |
| style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Patrick Beegan | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance | 1957–Feb. 1958 |
| style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Gerald Bartley | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce | 1957–Feb. 1958 |
Change 24 February 1958Death of Beegan on 2 February 1958.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Gerald Bartley | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance | Feb. 1958–1959 |
| style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Michael Hilliard | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce | Feb. 1958–1959 |
Confidence in the government
On 29 October 1958, William Norton, leader of the Labour Party, tabled a vote of no confidence in the government. James Dillon and Liam Cosgrave of Fine Gael proposed an amendment to the motion.<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite web; Template:Cite web</ref> Both the amendment and the motion were defeated the following day on a vote of 54 to 71.<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite web</ref>
Constitutional referendum
The government proposed the Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1958, which would have altered the electoral system from proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote to first past the post. It was put to a referendum on 17 June 1959, the same date as the presidential election. It was defeated by a margin of 48.2% to 51.8% of votes cast.
Resignation
On 17 June 1959, Éamon de Valera was elected as president of Ireland and he resigned as Taoiseach on that day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=preselection>Template:Cite web</ref> Under Article 28.11 of the Constitution, all members of the government are deemed to have resigned on the resignation of the Taoiseach, but they continued to carry on their duties until the appointment of their successors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Anchor9th government of Ireland
Template:Infobox government cabinet Éamon de Valera resigned as leader of Fianna Fáil after his election as president of Ireland and Seán Lemass was elected unopposed to succeed him on 22 June 1959.
Nomination of Taoiseach
On 23 June 1959, in the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil leader Seán Lemass was proposed. This motion was carried with 75 votes in favour to 51 votes against.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lemass was appointed as Taoiseach by President Seán T. O'Kelly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was the first time there was a change of Taoiseach within a Dáil term.
| 23 June 1959 Nomination of Seán Lemass (FF) as Taoiseach<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Motion proposed by Seán MacEntee and seconded by James Ryan Absolute majority: 74/147 | ||
| Vote | Parties | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Tick Yes | Fianna Fáil (72), Independent (3) | Template:Composition bar |
| No | Fine Gael (37), Labour Party (9), Clann na Talmhan (3), Clann na Poblachta (1), Independent (1) | Template:Composition bar |
| Absent or Not voting |
Ceann Comhairle (1), Fianna Fáil (3), Fine Gael (3), Labour Party (2), Independent (5) | Template:Composition bar |
| Abstentionist | Sinn Féin (4) | Template:Composition bar |
| Vacancies | 3<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=preselection /> | Template:Composition bar |
Members of the Government
After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Seán Lemass proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They were appointed by the president on 24 June 1959.<ref name=mapp9>Template:Cite web</ref>
Parliamentary Secretaries
On 24 June 1959, the government appointed the Parliamentary Secretaries on the nomination of the Taoiseach.<ref name=mapp9 />
| Name | Office | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Donnchadh Ó Briain | Government Chief Whip | 1959–1961 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence | 1959–1961 | ||
| style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Michael Kennedy | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare | 1959–1961 |
| style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Gerald Bartley | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance | June–July 1959 |
Change 24 July 1959Following the appointment of Gerard Bartley to government.<ref name=tranapp /> | |||
| style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Joseph Brennan | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance | July 1959 – 1961 |
Change 9 May 1960Additional appointment<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Charles Haughey | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Justice | 1960–1961 |
References
External links
Template:8th Government of Ireland Template:9th Government of Ireland Template:Governments of Ireland