Uachtarán na hÉireann - The Irish Presidency

As Ireland just had it's presidential election and the US is already in the midst of nominations for the 2012 presidential election, it may be helpful to see just what the role of the Irish President is, and how it differs from that of the American President (hint: quite a bit). The Áras an Uachtaráin is the title of the official residence of Irelands President, and is located in Phoenix Park in Dublin. Interestingly, the only other official state residence in Phoenix Park is known as Deerfield, and houses the United States Ambassador to Ireland.

The recent election saw quite a few candidates, seven in total, including Mary Davis, Managing Director of Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia, Martin McGuinness, former IRA member, Dana Rosemary Scallon, Eurovision winner and European Parliamentarian, Gay Mitchell, Fine Gael TD, Sean Gallagher, business owner and Dragon's Den panelist, Irish Senator David Norris, attempting to be the world's first openly gay president, and of course the winner, Michael D. Higgins, a TD for the Labour Party.

The President's role is laid out within the Republic of Ireland's constitution, just like in the US. Presidents are elected directly by the Irish electorate to seven year terms and can be re-elected only once. To be eligible for the presidency, you must be thirty-five years of age, and if not already holding the presidential office, candidates must be nominated by at least twenty TDs or Senators, or by a total of four County Councils. In the last presidential election, McGuinness, Mitchell, and Higgins were all nominated by their parties, while the other candidates all ran independently and were nominated by County Councils (Davis, 13; Norris, 4; Scallon, 4; and Gallagher, 4).

If only one candidate is nominated for a presidential election by the deadline, then obviously no vote is needed. This happened during current President Mary McAleese's reelection year due to her very strong popularity, and no party wishing to field a candidate in an election they'd clearly lose. And while it seems slightly strange that this rule exists, the President is not allowed to leave the Irish Republic without first getting approval from the Government. Government approval must also be sought for any address to the nation or to one or both houses of government.

While the President's role is seen mostly as ceremonial, he or she does have several distinct powers and responsibilities. For one, when the Dáil Éireann (the Lower House of the government) is elected, the President appoints the Taoiseach (pronounced like Tea-shock), or Prime Minister. This is one of those ceremonial powers as the Taoiseach is elected by a majority vote in the Dáil (so the head of the majority party usually gets the nod), and the President cannot actually refuse to appoint the winner of the vote. In a similar way, government ministers are nominated by the Taoiseach and approved by the Dáil, and then appointed by the President. The president also formally accepts any resignations.

Just like in the United States, the Irish President must sign a bill in order for it to become law. However, Irish President's hold no veto power. They must sign the bill once it is approved by the Dáil and Seanad (the Upper House of the government - Senate), and only have one option to thwart its passage. This is one of the most important powers the President holds. Upon getting an approved bill, the President can send it to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may then find it unconstitutional, at which point it is dead, or they may uphold its constitutionality. If it is upheld, the President has no choice but to sign the bill.

The other big power that the President has involves the dismissal of the Dáil. Under the advice (direction) of the Taoiseach, the President will convene or dismiss the Dáil. However, if the Taoiseach has lost a vote of confidence (at which point they must legally resign but continue in position until a replacement is named) the President has the discretion to refuse to dismiss the Dáil if they so choose.

The President is also responsible as commander of the armed forces and in representing the state in foreign affairs, however the actual use of associated powers is regulated by the Government. And of course the President also retains the power to pardon or commute a citizen's sentence.

The Irish President is clearly a lot less powerful than the American President. The Irish Presidency is more of an apolitical/non-partisan position and Presidents usually try to advance certain values and agendas they have. For example, had Sean Gallagher won the position, he has stated that a large part of his Presidency would have involved advancing the position of disabled people in society.

Photo Credit To: William Murphy - http://www.flickr.com/photos/infomatique/6189884132/

For a look at the Irish Constitution (of 1937): http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/upload/publications/297.pdf