Government of the 28th Dáil

The Government of the 29th Dáil or the 25th Government of Ireland was the government of Ireland formed after the 1997 general election which had been held on 6 June 1997. It was a minority coalition government of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats, led by Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach.

Government of the 28th Dáil
25th Government of Ireland
Date formed	26 June 1997
Date dissolved	6 June 2002
People and organisations
President	Mary Robinson (1997) Mary McAleese (1997–2002)
Taoiseach	Bertie Ahern
Tánaiste	Mary Harney
Total no. of members	15
Member parties	Fianna Fáil Progressive Democrats
Status in legislature	Coalition
Opposition party	Fine Gael
Opposition leader	John Bruton (1997–2001) Michael Noonan (2001–02)
History
Election(s)	1997 general election
Legislature term(s)	28th Dáil 21st Seanad
Predecessor	24th Government
Successor	26th Government

The 25th Government lasted 1,806 days.

25th Government of Ireland

Nomination of Taoiseach

The members of the 28th Dáil first met on 26 June 1997. In the debate on the nomination of Taoisech, both outgoing Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader John Bruton and Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern were proposed.[1] The vote on Bruton was defeated with 75 votes in favour to 87 against, while the vote on Ahern was approved by 85 to 78. Ahern was then appointed as Taoiseach by President Mary Robinson.[2]

26 June 1997 Nomination of Bertie Ahern (FF) as Taoiseach[3] Motion proposed by David Andrews and seconded by Mary O'Rourke Absolute majority: 84/166
Vote	Parties	Votes
Y Yes	Fianna Fáil (77), Progressive Democrats (4), Independent (3), Sinn Féin (1)	85 / 166
No	Fine Gael (54), Labour Party (16), Democratic Left (4), Green Party (2), Independent (1), Socialist Party (1)	78 / 166
Not voting	Independent (2), Ceann Comhairle (1)	3 / 166

Members of the Government

After his appointment by the president, Bertie Ahern 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	Bertie Ahern	1997–2002		Fianna Fáil
Tánaiste	Mary Harney	1997–2002		Progressive Democrats
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment[lower-alpha 1]
Minister for Marine and Natural Resources[lower-alpha 2]	Michael Woods	1997–2000		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Foreign Affairs	Ray Burke	1997		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Public Enterprise[lower-alpha 3]	Mary O'Rourke	1997–2002		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Defence	David Andrews	1997		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Agriculture and Food[lower-alpha 4] [lower-alpha 5]	Joe Walsh	1997–2002		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Finance	Charlie McCreevy	1997–2002		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Health and Children[lower-alpha 6]	Brian Cowen	1997–2000		Fianna Fáil
Minister for the Environment and Local Government[lower-alpha 7]	Noel Dempsey	1997–2002		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs[lower-alpha 8]	Dermot Ahern	1997–2002		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands[lower-alpha 9]	Síle de Valera	1997–2002		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform[lower-alpha 10]	John O'Donoghue[lower-alpha 11]	1997–2002		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation[lower-alpha 12]	Jim McDaid	1997–2002		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Education and Science[lower-alpha 13]	Micheál Martin	1997–2000		Fianna Fáil
Changes 8 October 1997 Following the resignation of Ray Burke after allegations of corrupt payments under investigation by the Flood Tribunal.[18][19][20]
Office	Name	Term	Party
Minister for Foreign Affairs	David Andrews	1997–2000		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Defence	Michael Smith	1997–2002		Fianna Fáil
Changes 27 January 2000 Following the retirement from government of David Andrews.[21][22]
Office	Name	Term	Party
Minister for Education and Science	Michael Woods	2000–02		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Foreign Affairs	Brian Cowen	2000–02		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Health and Children	Micheál Martin	2000–02		Fianna Fáil
Minister for Marine and Natural Resources	Frank Fahey	2000–02		Fianna Fáil

Changes to Departments

1. On 8 July 1997 the Department of Enterprise and Employment was renamed as the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.[5]
2. On 12 July 1997 the Department of the Marine was renamed as the Department of Marine and Natural Resources.[6]
3. On 12 July 1997 the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications was renamed as the Department of Public Enterprise.[7]
4. On 12 July 1997 the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry was renamed as the Department of Agriculture and Food.[8]
5. On 27 September 1999 the Department of Agriculture and Food was renamed as the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.[9]
6. On 12 July 1997 the Department of Health was renamed as the Department of Health and Children.[10]
7. On 22 July 1997 the Department of the Environment was renamed as the Department of the Environment and Local Government.[11]
8. On 12 July 1997 the Department of Social Welfare was renamed as the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs.[12]
9. On 12 July 1997 the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht was renamed as Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.[13]
10. On 8 July 1997 the functions of the Department of Equality and Law Reform were transferred to the Department of Justice.[14] On 9 July, the Department of Justice was renamed the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.[15]
11. John O'Donoghue was appointed as Minister for Justice and Minister for Equality and Law Reform and served as head of both departments until the transfer of functions on 8 July.
12. On 12 July 1997 the Department of Tourism and Trade was renamed as the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation.[16]
13. On 1 October 1997 the Department of Education was renamed as the Department of Education and Science.[17]

Attorney General

David Byrne SC was appointed by the president as Attorney General on the nomination of the Taoiseach.[2][4] In 1999, he resigned on his nomination as European Commissioner. On 17 July 1999, Michael McDowell SC was appointed by the president as Attorney General on the nomination of the Taoiseach.

Ministers of State

On 26 June 1997, the Government on the nomination of the Taoiseach appointed Séamus Brennan to the post of Minister for State at the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip and Bobby Molloy to the position of Minister of State to the Government.[2] On 1 July, the Government on the nomination of the Taoiseach appointed Michael Smith and Liz O'Donnell and On 8 July, the Government on the nomination of the Taoiseach appointed the other Ministers of State.[4]

Name	Department(s)	Responsibility	Party
Séamus Brennan	Taoiseach Defence	Government Chief Whip		Fianna Fáil
Bobby Molloy	Minister of State to the Government Environment and Local Government	Housing and urban renewal		Progressive Democrats
Michael Smith	Education Enterprise, Trade and Employment	Science and technology		Fianna Fáil
Liz O'Donnell	Foreign Affairs	Overseas development assistance and human rights		Progressive Democrats
Noel Davern	Agriculture and Food	Livestock breeding and horticulture		Fianna Fáil
Joe Jacob	Public Enterprise	Energy		Fianna Fáil
Frank Fahey	Health and Children	Children		Fianna Fáil
Willie O'Dea	Education and Science	Adult education, youth affairs and school transport		Fianna Fáil
Tom Kitt	Enterprise, Trade and Employment	Labour affairs, consumer rights and international trade		Fianna Fáil
Chris Flood	Tourism, Sport and Recreation	Local development and the National Drugs Strategy Team		Fianna Fáil
Dan Wallace	Environment and Local Government	Environmental information and awareness and the Environmental Protection Agency		Fianna Fáil
Ned O'Keeffe	Agriculture and Food	Food		Fianna Fáil
Hugh Byrne	Marine and Natural Resources	Aquaculture and forestry		Fianna Fáil
Mary Wallace	Justice, Equality and Law Reform	Equality and disabilities		Fianna Fáil
Martin Cullen	Finance	Office of Public Works		Fianna Fáil
Éamon Ó Cuív	Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands	Gaeltacht and the islands		Fianna Fáil
Tom Moffatt	Health and Children	Food safety and older people		Fianna Fáil
Changes 9 October 1997 Noel Treacy is appointed Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science and Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, following the appointment of Michael Smith to the position of Minister for Defence on the previous day.[20]
Changes 21 January 1998 Frank Fahey is appointed to the position of Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science and Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. He retained his existing post as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children.
Changes 1 February 2000 Changes following the resignation of Chris Flood and the appointment of Frank Fahey as Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources.[22]
Name	Department(s)	Responsibility	Party
Eoin Ryan	Tourism, Sport and Recreation	Local development		Fianna Fáil
Mary Hanafin	Health and Children Justice, Equality and Law Reform Education and Science	Children		Fianna Fáil
Changes 19 February 2001 Changes following the resignation of Ned O'Keeffe on 17 February.[23]
Name	Department(s)	Responsibility	Party
Éamon Ó Cuív	Agriculture, Food and Rural Development	Rural development and the Western Development Commission		Fianna Fáil
Mary Coughlan	Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands	Gaeltacht and the Islands		Fianna Fáil
Changes 11 April 2002 Liz O'Donnell was appointed Minister of State to the Government in addition to her existing post as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, following the resignation of Bobby Molloy two days earlier. She did not take over Molloy's post at the Department of the Environment and Local Government.[24]

Dissolution

On 25 April 2002, the president dissolved the Dáil on the advice of the Taoiseach, and a general election was held on 17 May.[25] The members of the 29th Dáil met on 6 June and Bertie Ahern was re-appointed as Taoiseach and formed a new government.

See also

• Constitution of Ireland
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland

References

1. "Nomination of Taoiseach – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – 26 June 1997". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
2. "Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of the Government – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Thursday, 26 June 1997". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
3. "Nomination of Taoiseach. – Votes – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – 26 June 1997". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
4. "Appointment of Members of Government and Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Wednesday, 9 July 1997". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
5. "Enterprise and Employment (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
6. "Marine (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
7. "Transport, Energy and Communications (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
8. "Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
9. "Agriculture and Food (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 21 September 1999. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
10. "Health (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
11. "Environment (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 22 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
12. "Social Welfare (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
13. "Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
14. "Equality and Law Reform (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1997". 8 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
15. "Justice (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
16. "Tourism and Trade (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
17. "Education (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 30 September 1997. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
18. "Resignation of Member of Government – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Wednesday, 8 October 1997". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
19. "Nomination of Member of Government: Motion – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Wednesday, 8 October 1997". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
20. "Appointment of Member of Government – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Thursday, 9 October 1997". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
21. "Nomination of Member of Government: Motion – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Thursday, 27 January 2000". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
22. "Ministerial Appointments: Announcement by Taoiseach – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Wednesday, 2 February 2000". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
23. "Resignation of Minister of State: Announcement by Taoiseach – Dáil Éireann (27th Dáil) –". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
24. "Resignation of Minister of State: Statements – Dáil Éireann (27th Dáil) – Wednesday, 17 April 2002". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
25. "Advice to Dissolve Dáil: Announcement – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Wednesday, 24 April 2002". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 28 March 2020.