Ceann Comhairle

The Ceann Comhairle1 is the chairman or speaker of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the Dáil from among their number in the first session after each general election. The current Ceann Comhairle is Dr. Rory O'Hanlon, TD, Deputy for Cavan-Monaghan.

Overview

The Ceann Comhairle is expected to observe strict impartiality. Despite this, a government usually tries to select one of its own for the position, if its numbers allow. In order to protect the neutrality of the chair, the Irish constitution provides that an incumbent Ceann Comhairle does not seek re-election as a TD (member of the Dáil) but rather is deemed automatically to have been re-elected by their constitutuency at a general election, unless they are retiring2. As a consequence, the constituency that an incumbent Ceann Comhairle theoretically represents returns one less TD in a general election than its usual entitlement. The Ceann Comhairle does not vote except in the event of a tie. In this event they generally vote in accordance with the parliamentary conventions relating to the Speaker of the British House of Commons. The Ceann Comhairle is the sole judge of order in the house and has a number of special functions. Specifically, the Ceann Comhairle

Related Topics:
Irish constitution - TD - 2 - Speaker of the British House of Commons

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• Calls on members to speak. All speeches must be addressed to the Ceann Comhairle.
• Puts such questions to the house and supervises and declares the results of divisions.
• Has authority to suppress disorder. To ensure obedience to his rulings the Ceann Comhairle may order members to withdraw from the Dáil or suspend an individual from the House for a period. In the case of great disorder the Ceann Comhairle can suspend or adjourn the house.