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2020s in Irish history

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2020s in Irish history refers to significant events in Ireland in the 2020s.

Government

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Legislative

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This section is an excerpt from Government of the 33rd Dáil.[edit]

There have been three governments of the 33rd Dáil to date, being coalition governments of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party. This followed the 2020 general election to Dáil Éireann held on 8 February, and negotiations on a programme for government that lasted till June. The parties agreed on a rotation, with the two major party leaders alternating as Taoiseach.[1][2] The makeup of the parties resulted in a centre-right coalition.[3] It was the first time that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have participated in the same government, which Leo Varadkar described as the end of what has often been referred to as Civil War politics.[4][5]

The 32nd government of Ireland (27 June 2020 to 17 December 2022) was led by Micheál Martin, leader of Fianna Fáil, as Taoiseach, and Leo Varadkar, leader of Fine Gael, as Tánaiste. It lasted 906 days.

The 33rd government of Ireland (17 December 2022 to 9 April 2024) was led by Varadkar as Taoiseach and Martin as Tánaiste. It lasted 480 days. Varadkar resigned as leader of Fine Gael on 20 March 2024 and was succeeded on 24 March by Simon Harris. Varadkar resigned as Taoiseach on 8 April.[6]

The 34th government of Ireland (9 April 2024 to present) is led by Simon Harris as Taoiseach and Martin as Tánaiste. It has lasted 265 days to date. Harris resigned as Taoiseach on 18 December 2024 on the morning of the first meeting of the 34th Dáil after the 2024 general election. Harris and the other members of the government will continue to carry out their duties until the appointment of their successors.
This section is an excerpt from 2024 Irish general election.[edit]

Dáil constituencies for the 2024 general election

The 2024 Irish general election to elect the 34th Dáil took place on Friday, 29 November 2024, following the dissolution of the 33rd Dáil on 8 November by President Michael D. Higgins at the request of Taoiseach Simon Harris. Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m UTC. It elected 174 Teachtaí Dála (TDs) across 43 constituencies of between 3 and 5 seats to Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's legislature. Under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023, the number of TDs was increased from 160 to 174, with an increase in the number of constituencies from 39 to 43. The 34th Dáil will be the largest Dáil in the history of the state. The main issues in the campaign were the cost of living, housing affordability and availability, immigration and asylum management, and economic stability amid external trade uncertainties, reflecting voter concerns despite the country's strong overall financial health.[7][8][9]

The election resulted in Fianna Fáil remaining as the largest party, increasing its number of seats to 48. Its governing partner Fine Gael won 38 seats, with the two parties combined winning 86 seats, two shy of a majority.[10][11] The Green Party, the third party of government, lost all but one of its seats, with only leader Roderic O'Gorman returning to the Dáil.[12] Sinn Féin remained as the second largest party, winning 39 seats,[11] while the Social Democrats and Labour each won 11 seats, an increase of five each.[13]

Executive government

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This section is an excerpt from Micheál Martin.[edit]
Official portrait, 2020
For other people with similar names, see Michael Martin (disambiguation).

Micheál Martin (Irish: [ˈmʲiːçaːl̪ˠ];[14][15][16] born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of Fianna Fáil since January 2011. He has been a TD for Cork South-Central since 1989. He served as Leader of the Opposition from 2011 to 2020 and held various Cabinet offices under Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen.

Born in Cork, Martin initially worked as a teacher before entering politics. He was elected to Cork City Council in 1985, and served as Lord Mayor of Cork from 1992 to 1993. In 1989, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann for Cork South-Central, a seat he has represented ever since. After the victory of Fianna Fáil at the 1997 election, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern appointed Martin to the Cabinet as Minister for Education and Science. In 2000, Martin was appointed Minister for Health and Children. In 2004, during his time as Health Minister, Martin was notable for introducing a ban on tobacco smoking in all Irish workplaces, making Ireland the first country in the world to introduce a full workplace smoking ban. In the same year, Martin established the Health Service Executive. He served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 2004 to 2008, before being appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs by Ahern's successor, Brian Cowen. In 2009, Martin became the first Irish foreign minister to travel to Latin America, during which time he also made the first official visit to Cuba by any Irish minister. Martin also visited Khartoum during his time as Foreign Minister, following the kidnapping of Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki.

In January 2011, Martin resigned as Foreign Minister in protest at Cowen's leadership. Following Cowen's own resignation as Leader of Fianna Fáil, Martin was quickly elected to replace him. Just weeks later, at the 2011 general election, Martin led Fianna Fáil to the worst result in its 85-year history, with a loss of 57 seats and a popular vote of just 17.4%. He nevertheless remained in the leadership, becoming Leader of the Opposition. At the 2016 general election, Fianna Fáil's performance improved significantly, more than doubling their representation in the Dáil, with Martin continuing as Leader of the Opposition.

Martin led his party through the 2020 general election, which led to Fianna Fáil becoming the largest party in the Dáil by just one seat.[17][a] After lengthy negotiations, he was appointed Taoiseach on 27 June 2020, leading a grand coalition with longtime rival party Fine Gael, marking the first time these two parties had governed together, along with the Green Party. Under the terms of the coalition agreement, Martin served as Taoiseach for the first half of the five-year term, with his predecessor Leo Varadkar as Tánaiste.[19] Martin then resigned as Taoiseach on 17 December 2022 to facilitate the appointment of Varadkar to the office.[20]

Following the 2024 general election, Fianna Fáil achieved the most seats in the Dáil; as such, Martin is expected to become the next Taoiseach once a new coalition is formed.[21] However, Martin has stated that he does not believe that the new government will be in place before Christmas 2024.[22] He continues to serve as Tánaiste in the current government until a new government is formed.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil each had 37 TDs elected but as Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail, a Fianna Fáil member, was automatically returned, this left Fianna Fáil as the largest party in the Dáil.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "FF, FG and Green Party agree historic coalition deal". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. 26 June 2020. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  2. ^ Cunningham, Paul (9 November 2022). "Govt agrees 17 December as date for Taoiseach change". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Varadkar returns as Irish leader in political job-share deal". politpro. 30 November 2024. Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  4. ^ Blackall, Molly; agencies (27 June 2020). "Micheál Martin becomes Irish taoiseach in historic coalition". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  5. ^ O'Halloran, Marie; Kelly, Fiach; Leahy, Pat (27 June 2020). "Micheál Martin elected Taoiseach as head of coalition". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Varadkar formally tenders resignation as Taoiseach to President Higgins". RTÉ News. 8 April 2024. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Irish election 2024: Will cost of living decide who wins?". 24 November 2024. Archived from the original on 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Ireland's election: the parties, the voting, the issues and the likely result". The Guardian. 24 November 2024. Archived from the original on 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  9. ^ "What to know about the Irish election – including polling and issues". Sky News. 24 November 2024. Archived from the original on 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  10. ^ O'Carroll, Lisa (2024-12-02). "Centre-right Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael set to retain power in Ireland". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  11. ^ a b "Irish general election: Fianna Fáil emerges as largest party". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  12. ^ O'Carroll, Lisa (2024-12-01). "Irish Greens virtually wiped out in general election rout". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  13. ^ Hurley, Sandra (1 December 2024). "Decisions ahead for Soc Dems and Labour leadership". RTÉ.ie.
  14. ^ Martin spells his first name Micheál, that is without an acute accent, or síneadh fada over the i. See Martin's official website Micheál Martin TD Archived 7 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine. The Irish language version of the name Michael is usually spelt Mícheál.
  15. ^ "Micheál Martin". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  16. ^ Kelly, Fiach (29 June 2019). "Irish politics needs to wake up to the consequences of a no-deal Brexit". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  17. ^ "General Election 2020 Live Results". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Ceann Comhairle – Seán Ó Fearghaíl". Oireachtas. 23 April 2021. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  19. ^ Thomas, Cónal (27 June 2020). "Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has been elected Taoiseach". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  20. ^ Lehane, Micheál (17 December 2022). "Varadkar appointed Taoiseach under coalition deal". RTÉ News. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  21. ^ Matthews, Jane (2024-12-02). "Hello Taoiseach Micheál Martin: The winners and losers of the 2024 General Election". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  22. ^ "New Government won't be formed by Christmas, says Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin". Irish Independent. 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
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