Politics, constitution and administrative structure of Ireland

Ireland is a legal country with a republican form of government. It refers to the parliamentary republics. The law is based on the Constitution of the country which was adopted in 1937. The Head of State is the President. His powers are however limited. The President is elected for a term of seven years by direct vote. According to the current Constitution of Ireland, a President is only allowed to serve for no more than two consecutive terms. As a rule, representatives of various opposing parties are fighting for the presidency. However, after the candidate is elected, he is obliged to leave all his party beliefs and interests aside and engage in unbiased work in order to benefit his State.

The main responsibility of the President is to approve, sign and publish legislative projects. Also, the President is the commander-in-chief in the country. Therefore, it is in his power to appoint members of the government or to dismiss them for failure to comply with the requirements. The President’s unique responsibilities are to review the compliance of the Supreme Court’s work with the Constitution of Ireland, as well as the restriction of dissolution of the Parliament (with the support of the majority of the upper house). It is worth noting that in all of history, Ireland had only eight Presidents and only one of them was a nationalist. The rest were adherents of the famous party Fianna file.

The highest legislative body in Ireland is the Parliament. It has a bicameral structure. The House of Commons is called “Doyle”. It consists of one hundred and sixty-six members. All deputies are elected to their office by universal voting on the system of proportional distribution. Elections are conducted every five years. The Senate Chamber consists of sixty members. It is worth noting that 11 senators are appointed personally by the Prime Minister, the largest Irish institutions have the right to appoint six members, and all the others are selected by special collegia for professional orientation, so that representatives of various spheres of activity are present in the Senate. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The leading place in the executive arm of government is occupied by the government of the Country. It consists of about fifteen Cabinet members. The Prime Minister and his deputy are necessarily both in government. The Prime Minister himself is responsible for the government formation. After the election of candidates however, the President of Ireland must give his approval. At the moment there are only a few major political parties in the country. The dominant place is occupied by the coalition party called the Fianna file. Also, the Labor Party, left-wing democrats and progressive democrats have considerable influence. Leading organizations of business employment is the Conference of Businessmen and Employers. Trade unions are also actively functional in the country. It is worth noting that more than half of all citizens involved in the production sector are members of trade unions.

The administrative division in Ireland is unique as it was influenced by historical factors. In general, the country is divided into only four provinces. They in turn, are divided into counties (there are 32 in all). Due to the fact that Ireland is considered a unitary state, local government in the counties operates in accordance with the powers vested in it by the Parliament. The main tasks of local officials are to maintain the city infrastructure, organize safe road traffic, and provide all residents of the areas with services. Also, local self-government bodies deal with issues of environmental protection, matters related to the further development of the city and the planning of new structures and communications, and the organization of entertainment for major state or small domestic holidays. Usually, all funding is received by each local government directly from the central government. Some revenues for the local budgets are also generated from taxes and other related services.

The Judiciary in Ireland is represented by the Anglo-American type of legal system. In other words, the common law model is used. The main judicial bodies are the Supreme Court and the High Court. It is worth noting that each judge is personally appointed by the President and this post is held for life. The judge can however be removed from the discharge of his duties only in connection with the loss of legal capacity or the discovery of inconsistency of his actions with the Constitution and the law of Ireland. The modern foreign policy of Ireland is mostly aimed at achieving independence. Although, during the time of membership in the European Union, Ireland followed the course clearly paved by the Eurozone, relations with the United States never ceased.

It is worth noting that because of its global beliefs, Ireland did not become a member of NATO and is pursuing an impressive policy of military neutrality. Despite this, the armed forces have been participating in the United Nations’ exercises for more than half a century. It is worth noting that the regular armed forces of Ireland are comprised of about thirteen thousand personnel. They consist of land, naval and air force units. There is also a military reserve on the register, which consists of about seventeen thousand personnel. The call-up age in the country starts from 17 years and ends at 49 years, but then again, service in Ireland is voluntary. The Commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the country is the President of Ireland.