Taoiseach

The Taoiseach (plural: Taoisigh) or, more formally, An Taoiseach, is the head of government of the Republic of Ireland and the leader of the Irish cabinet1. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament), and must, while he or she remains in office, enjoy the confidence of the Dáil. The current Taoiseach is Bertie Ahern,TD of the Fianna Fáil party.

Footnotes

• Taoiseach is Irish Gaelic. It may be pronounced "tee-shoch" (with the "ch" sound as in "loch" — IPA {{IPA|/ti:ʃɒx/}}). In the accent of some speakers of Donegal Irish, however, its pronunciation is closer to "tee-shah" — {{IPA|/ti:ʃɑ:/}}. The plural, Taoisigh, may be pronounced "tee-she" or "tee-shig" — {{IPA|/ti:ʃi:/}} or {{IPA|/ti:ʃɪg/}}. The Taoiseach is often formally addressed in English as An Taoiseach, "An" being the Irish definite article.
• One example of the Dáil refusing supply occurred in January 1982 when the then Fine Gael-Labour government of Garret FitzGerald lost a vote on the budget.
• Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1°. The latter provision reads: "The head of the Government, or Prime Minister, shall be called, and is in this Constitution referred to as, the Taoiseach."
• Among the most famous ministerial dismissals have been those of Charles J. Haughey and Neil Blaney during the Arms Crisis in 1970, Brian Lenihan in 1990 and Albert Reynolds, Padraig Flynn and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn in 1991.