Government of the 14th Dáil

The 6th government of Ireland (13 June 1951 – 2 June 1954) was the government of Ireland formed after the 1951 general election held on 30 May to the 14th Dáil. It was a single-party Fianna Fáil government led by Éamon de Valera as Taoiseach. It lasted for 2 years, 354 days.

6th government of Ireland
Government of Ireland
Date formed	13 June 1951
Date dissolved	2 June 1954
People and organisations
President	Seán T. O'Kelly
Taoiseach	Éamon de Valera
Tánaiste	Seán Lemass
Total no. of members	12
Member party	Fianna Fáil
Status in legislature	Minority Government
Opposition party	Fine Gael
Opposition leader	John A. Costello
History
Election	1951 general election
Legislature terms	14th Dáil 7th Seanad
Predecessor	5th government
Successor	7th government

Nomination of Taoiseach

The 14th Dáil first met on 13 June 1951. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, outgoing Taoiseach John A. Costello of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil leader Éamon de Valera were both proposed. Costello was defeated by a vote of 72 to 74, while de Valera was approved by a vote of 74 to 69.^[1] De Valera was appointed as Taoiseach by President Seán T. O'Kelly.^[2]

13 June 1951 Nomination of Éamon de Valera (FF) as Taoiseach[3] Motion proposed by Seán Lemass and seconded by Seán Moylan Absolute majority: 74/147
Vote	Parties	Votes
Y Yes	Fianna Fáil (69), Independent (5)	74 / 147
No	Fine Gael (40), Labour Party (15), Clann na Talmhan (6), Clann na Poblachta (2), Independent (6)	69 / 147
Not voting	Ceann Comhairle (1), Independent (3)	4 / 147

Members of the Government

After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, de Valera proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil.^[4] They were appointed by the president on 14 June 1951.^[5]

Office	Name
Taoiseach		Éamon de Valera
Tánaiste		Seán Lemass
Minister for Industry and Commerce
Minister for Finance		Seán MacEntee
Minister for Health		James Ryan
Minister for Social Welfare
Minister for External Affairs		Frank Aiken
Minister for Lands		Thomas Derrig
Minister for Justice		Gerald Boland
Minister for Defence		Oscar Traynor
Minister for Education		Seán Moylan
Minister for Agriculture		Thomas Walsh
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs		Erskine H. Childers
Minister for Local Government		Paddy Smith

Parliamentary secretaries

On 19 June 1951, the government appointed the parliamentary secretaries on the nomination of the Taoiseach.^[5]

Name		Office
	Donnchadh Ó Briain	Government Chief Whip Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence
	Jack Lynch	Parliamentary Secretary to the Government
	Patrick Beegan	Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance
	Michael Kennedy	Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare
	Gerald Bartley	Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture[6]
Change 5 November 1951 Additional appointment[7]
Name		Office
	Jack Lynch	Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Lands[8]

Confidence in the government

On 30 June 1953, de Valera proposed a vote of confidence in the government.^[9] On 2 July, it was approved on a vote of 73 to 71.^[10]

References

1. "Nomination of Taoiseach". Dáil Debates – Vol. 126 No. 1. 13 June 1951. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
2. "Appointment of Taoiseach". Dáil Debates – Vol. 126 No. 1. 13 June 1951. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
3. "Nomination of Taoiseach – Votes – (14th Dáil) – Wednesday, 13 June 1951". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
4. "Nomination of Members of Government: Motion of Approval". Dáil Debates – Vol. 126 No. 1. 13 June 1951. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
5. "Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries". Dáil Debates – Vol. 126 No. 2. 20 June 1951. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
6. Fisheries (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 1951 (S.I. No. 292 of 1951). Signed on 23 October 1951. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.; Fisheries (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 1952 (S.I. No. 179 of 1952). Signed on 17 June 1952. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.; Fisheries (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 1953 (S.I. No. 281 of 1953). Signed on 28 August 1953. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.; Fisheries (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 1954 (S.I. No. 43 of 1954). Signed on 5 March 1954. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
7. "Appointment of Parliamentary Secretary". Seanad Debates – Vol. 40 No. 2. 7 November 1951.
8. Gaeltacht Housing (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 1952 (S.I. No. 21 of 1952). Signed on 8 January 1952. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.; Gaeltacht Housing (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 1953 (S.I. No. 421 of 1953). Signed on 30 December 1953. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
9. "Vote of Confidence—Motion by Taoiseach". Dáil Debates – Vol. 140 No. 1. 30 June 1953. Retrieved 9 November 2020.; "Vote of Confidence—Motion by Taoiseach (Resumed)". Dáil Debates – Vol. 140 No. 2. 1 July 1953. Retrieved 9 November 2020.; "Vote of Confidence—Motion by Taoiseach (Resumed)". Dáil Debates – Vol. 140 No. 2. 1 July 1953. Retrieved 9 November 2020.; "Vote of Confidence—Motion by Taoiseach (Resumed)". Dáil Debates – Vol. 140 No. 3. 2 July 1953. Retrieved 9 November 2020.; "Vote of Confidence—Motion by Taoiseach (Resumed)". Dáil Debates – Vol. 140 No. 3. 2 July 1953. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
10. "Motion of Confidence (Resumed) – Votes – Dáil Éireann (14th Dáil) – 2 July 1953". Oireachtas. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

External links

• "History of Government – Fourteenth Dáil". Government of Ireland. 28 November 2018. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.