Houses of the Oireachtas

Oireachtas National Parliament
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Dáil Éireann (32nd) Seanad Éireann (25th)
Leadership
President	Michael D. Higgins Since 27 October 2011
Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann	Seán Ó Fearghaíl (FF) Since 10 March 2016
Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann	Denis O'Donovan (FF) Since 8 June 2016
Structure
Seats	218 members 158 TDs 60 Senators
Dáil Éireann political groups	Government (58)      Fine Gael (50)      Independent (8) Confidence and supply (43)      Fianna Fáil (43) Other Opposition (56)      Sinn Féin (23)      Labour Party (7)      AAA–PBP (6)      I4C (4)      Green Party (2)      Social Democrats (2)      WUA (1)      Independent (11) Ceann Comhairle      Seán Ó Fearghaíl (1)
Seanad Éireann political groups	Government (19)      Fine Gael (19) Opposition (41)      Fianna Fáil (14)      Sinn Féin (7)      Labour Party (5)      Green Party (1)      Independent (14)
Elections
Dáil Éireann voting system	Single transferable vote
Seanad Éireann voting system	Indirect election
Dáil Éireann last election	26 February 2016
Seanad Éireann last election	26 April 2016
Meeting place
Leinster House, Dublin
Website
oireachtas.ie

218 members

Government (58)

Confidence and supply (43)

Other Opposition (56)

Ceann Comhairle

Government (19)

Opposition (41)

The Oireachtas (/ˈɛrəktəs/; EH-rək-təs, sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:

The houses of the Oireachtas sit in Leinster House in Dublin, an eighteenth-century ducal palace. The directly elected Dáil is by far the more powerful branch of the Oireachtas.

The term oireachtas (Irish pronunciation: [ˈiːɾʲəxt̪ˠasˠ]) derives from the Old Irish word airech ("nobleman"). Its first recorded use as the name of a legislative body was within the Irish Free State.

Dáil Éireann, the lower house, is directly elected under universal suffrage of all Irish and United Kingdom citizens who are resident and at least eighteen years of age. An election is held at least once in every five years as required by law. However the house can usually be dissolved at any time at the request of the Taoiseach (head of government). Dáil elections occur under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. The Dáil has had 166 members since 1981. The Seanad is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members selected in a number of ways. 43 senators are elected by councillors and parliamentarians, 11 are appointed by the Taoiseach, and six are elected by two university constituencies, giving a total of 60 members. The President of Ireland is directly elected once in every seven years, for a maximum of two terms. However, if, as has occurred on a number of occasions, a consensus among the larger political parties can result in only a single candidate being nominated, then no actual ballot occurs.