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The 32nd Dáil was elected at the 2016 general election on 26 February and first met at 10.30 a.m. on 10 March 2016.[1] The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It sat with the 25th Seanad as the two Houses of the Oireachtas.
| 32nd Dáil | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Overview | |||||||||||
| Legislative body | Dáil Éireann | ||||||||||
| Jurisdiction | Ireland | ||||||||||
| Meeting place | Leinster House | ||||||||||
| Term | 10 March 2016 – 14 January 2020 | ||||||||||
| Election | 2016 general election | ||||||||||
| Government |
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| Members | 158 | ||||||||||
| Ceann Comhairle | Seán Ó Fearghaíl | ||||||||||
| Leas-Cheann Comhairle | Pat "the Cope" Gallagher | ||||||||||
| Taoiseach | Leo Varadkar — Enda Kenny until 14 June 2017 | ||||||||||
| Tánaiste | Simon Coveney — Frances Fitzgerald until 28 November 2017 | ||||||||||
| Chief Whip | Seán Kyne | ||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition | Micheál Martin | ||||||||||
| Sessions | |||||||||||
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The 32nd Dáil was dissolved by President Michael D. Higgins on 14 January 2020, at the request of the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.[2][3] The 32nd Dáil lasted 1,406 days.
| Party | Feb. 2016 | Jan. 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ● | Fine Gael | 50 | 47 |
| C | Fianna Fáil | 44 | 45 |
| Sinn Féin | 23 | 22 | |
| Labour | 7 | 7 | |
| Solidarity–PBP[a] | 6 | 6 | |
| Independents 4 Change | 4 | 1 | |
| Social Democrats | 3 | 2 | |
| Green | 2 | 3 | |
| Independent[b] | 19 | 22 | |
| Ceann Comhairle | — | 1 | |
| Aontú | — | 1 | |
| Vacant | — | 1 | |
| Total | 158 | ||
Government party denoted with bullet (●)
Party giving confidence and supply denoted by C.
- Notes
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- Ceann Comhairle: Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Fianna Fáil)
- Leas-Cheann Comhairle: Pat "the Cope" Gallagher (Fianna Fáil)
The first act of the 32nd Dáil was the election of the Ceann Comhairle.[4] This was the first time the Ceann Comhairle was elected by secret ballot.
On 2 June 2016, Seán Crowe, Mattie McGrath, Pat "the Cope" Gallagher and Bernard Durkan were nominated for the position of Leas-Cheann Comhairle. No candidate was elected by resolution.[5] On 6 July, the Dáil proceeded to an election by secret ballot using the single transferable vote. On 7 July, Gallagher was declared elected and approved by resolution.[6]
Government
- Taoiseach
- Enda Kenny (6 May 2016 – 14 June 2017)
- Leo Varadkar (14 June 2017 – 14 January 2020)
- Tánaiste
- Frances Fitzgerald (6 May 2016 – 28 November 2017)
- Simon Coveney (30 November 2017 – 14 January 2020)
Opposition
| Committee | Position | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, Food and the Marine | Chair | Pat Deering | Fine Gael | |
| Budgetary Oversight | Chair | John Paul Phelan | Fine Gael | |
| Children and Youth Affairs | Chair | Alan Farrell | Fine Gael | |
| Communications, Climate Action and the Environment | Chair | Hildegarde Naughton | Fine Gael | |
| Education and Social Protection | Chair | Fiona O'Loughlin | Fianna Fáil | |
| European Union Affairs | Chair | Michael Healy-Rae | Independent | |
| Vice Chair | Terry Leyden | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach | Chair | John McGuinness | Fianna Fáil | |
| Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defense | Chair | Brendan Smith | Fianna Fáil | |
| Vice Chair | Maureen O'Sullivan | Independent | ||
| Future of Healthcare | Chair | Róisín Shortall | Social Democrats | |
| Health | Chair | Michael Harty | Independent | |
| Housing, Planning and Local Government | Chair | Noel Rock | Fine Gael | |
| Housing and Homelessness | Chair | John Curran | Fianna Fáil | |
| Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement | Chair | Kathleen Funchion | Sinn Féin | |
| Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands | Chair | Catherine Connolly | Independent | |
| Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation | Chair | Mary Butler | Fianna Fáil | |
| Justice and Equality | Chair | Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin | Sinn Féin | |
| Members' Interests of Dáil Éireann | Chair | Maria Bailey | Fine Gael | |
| Petitions | Chair | Seán Sherlock | Labour Party | |
| Procedure and Privileges (Dáil) | Chair | Seán Ó Fearghaíl | Ceann Comhairle | |
| – Sub-Committee on Dáil Reform | Chair | Seán Ó Fearghaíl | Ceann Comhairle | |
| Public Accounts Committee | Chair | Seán Fleming | Fianna Fáil | |
| Vice Chair | Alan Kelly | Labour Party | ||
| Rural Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht | Chair | Peadar Tóibín | Sinn Féin | |
| Social Protection | Chair | John Curran | Fianna Fáil | |
| Transport, Tourism and Sport | Chair | Brendan Griffin | Fine Gael | |
^ +: Elected for the first time at the 2016 general election.
^ ‡: Previously served as member of the Dáil non-consecutively to the current consecutive terms of office.
^ #: Member of the 24th Seanad at time of election.
^ §: Returned automatically without standing for election as outgoing Ceann Comhairle, in accordance with Article 16.6 of the Constitution of Ireland.
This is a list of TDs elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2016 general election. The Changes table below records changes in membership and party affiliation.
- Campaigned under the banner of the Independent Alliance, but appeared as a normal Independent on the ballot paper.
In the wake of the 2016 general election, which saw a significant increase in the number of TDs elected as independents or from small parties in the 32nd Dáil, the Dáil standing orders were extensively revised to reduce the minimum number for the formation of a technical group from seven TDs to five, and to allow multiple technical groups to exist in parallel. In January 2018, there were three groups; Independents 4 Change Group (7), Social Democrats–Green Party Group (5) and the Rural Independents Group (7).[7]
Independents 4 Change Group
Social Democrats–Green Party Group
| Party | Name | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democrats (2) | Catherine Murphy | Kildare North | |
| Róisín Shortall | Dublin North-West | ||
| Green Party (2) | Catherine Martin | Dublin Rathdown | |
| Eamon Ryan | Dublin Bay South | ||
| Independent (1) | Séamus Healy | Tipperary | |
Rural Independents Group
For the first time, two siblings were elected to Dáil Éireann from the same constituency: Michael and Danny Healy-Rae for Kerry.[9]
Having become the first openly lesbian member of the Oireachtas and the first member in a recognised same-sex relationship with her Seanad nomination in 2011, Katherine Zappone also became the first openly lesbian Teachta Dála (TD) after being elected to the Dáil in 2016, and later the first openly lesbian member of government.[10]
Independents 4 Change, the Social Democrats and Aontú had their first TDs.
On 14 June 2017 Leo Varadkar became the first openly gay Taoiseach.[11]
Malcolm Byrne became the first openly gay man to win a by-election, and the first openly gay Fianna Fáil TD.
| Date | Constituency | Loss | Gain | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 March 2016 | Kildare South | Fianna Fáil | Ceann Comhairle | Seán Ó Fearghaíl is elected as Ceann Comhairle[4] | ||
| 26 July 2016 | Dublin Bay North | Inds. 4 Change | Independent | Tommy Broughan leaves Independents 4 Change | ||
| 5 September 2016 | Wicklow | Social Democrats | Independent | Stephen Donnelly leaves the Social Democrats | ||
| 2 February 2017 | Wicklow | Independent | Fianna Fáil | Stephen Donnelly joins Fianna Fáil | ||
| 22 March 2018 | Offaly | Sinn Féin | Independent | Carol Nolan was suspended from Sinn Féin for voting against legislation to allow for a referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment[12] She resigned from Sinn Féin in June 2018. | ||
| 2 October 2018 | Louth | Fine Gael | Independent | Peter Fitzpatrick resigns from Fine Gael[13] | ||
| 15 November 2018 | Meath West | Sinn Féin | Independent | Peadar Tóibín resigns from Sinn Féin[14] | ||
| 28 January 2019 | Meath West | Independent | Aontú | Peadar Tóibín founds a new political party called Aontú[15] | ||
| 1 July 2019 | Dublin Fingal | Inds. 4 Change | Resignation of Clare Daly after her election to the European Parliament[16] | |||
| 1 July 2019 | Dublin Mid-West | Fine Gael | Resignation of Frances Fitzgerald after her election to the European Parliament[16] | |||
| 1 July 2019 | Cork North-Central | Fianna Fáil | Resignation of Billy Kelleher after his election to the European Parliament[16] | |||
| 1 July 2019 | Wexford | Inds. 4 Change | Resignation of Mick Wallace after his election to the European Parliament[16] | |||
| 30 November 2019 | Dublin Mid-West | Sinn Féin | Mark Ward wins the Dublin Mid-West by-election, taking the seat vacated by the resignation of Frances Fitzgerald[17] | |||
| 30 November 2019 | Cork North-Central | Fianna Fáil | Pádraig O'Sullivan wins the Cork North-Central by-election, taking the seat vacated by the resignation of Billy Kelleher[17] | |||
| 30 November 2019 | Wexford | Fianna Fáil | Malcolm Byrne wins the Wexford by-election, taking the seat vacated by the resignation of Mick Wallace[17] | |||
| 30 November 2019 | Dublin Fingal | Green | Joe O'Brien wins the Dublin Fingal by-election, taking the seat vacated by the resignation of Clare Daly[17] | |||
| 3 December 2019 | Cork North-Central | Fine Gael | Resignation of Dara Murphy[18] | |||
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