24th Dáil

24th Dáil
← 23rd Dáil 25th Dáil →
Overview
Legislative body	Dáil Éireann
Jurisdiction	Ireland
Meeting place	Leinster House
Term	14 December 1982 – 20 January 1987
Election	November 1982 general election
Government	19th government of Ireland
Members	166
Ceann Comhairle	Tom Fitzpatrick
Taoiseach	Garret FitzGerald
Tánaiste	Peter Barry — Dick Spring until 20 January 1987
Chief Whip	Fergus O'Brien — Seán Barrett until 13 February 1986
Leader of the Opposition	Charles Haughey
Sessions
1st 14 December 1982 – 8 July 1983 2nd 5 July 1984 – 30 June 1988 3rd 10 October 1984 – 11 July 1985 4th 23 October 1985 – 4 July 1986 5th 22 October 1986 – 19 December 1986

The 24th Dáil was elected at the November 1982 general election on 24 November 1982 and met on 14 December 1982. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Ireland are known as TDs. It sat with the 17th Seanad as the two Houses of the Oireachtas.

On 20 January 1987, President Patrick Hillery dissolved the Dáil at the request of the Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald. The 24th Dáil lasted 1,499 days.

Composition of the 24th Dáil

Party		Nov. 1982	Jan. 1987	Change
	Fianna Fáil	75	71	4
●	Fine Gael	70	67	3
●	Labour	16	14	2
	Workers' Party	2	2
	Progressive Democrats	—	5	5
	Independent	3	5	2
	Ceann Comhairle	—	1	1
	Vacant	—	1	1
Total		166

Fine Gael and the Labour Party, denoted with bullets (●), formed the 19th government of Ireland. Labour left the government on 20 January 1987, after which FitzGerald sought a dissolution of the Dáil.

Graphical representation

This is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 24th Dáil from December 1982. This was not the official seating plan.

Ceann Comhairle

On the meeting of the Dáil, Tom Fitzpatrick (FG) was proposed by Garret FitzGerald (FG) and seconded by Peter Barry (FG) for the position of Ceann Comhairle. John O'Connell (Ind), who had served in the position in the previous two Dála, was proposed by Neil Blaney (IFF) and seconded by Charles Haughey (FF). Fitzpatrick was elected on a vote of 86 to 80.[1]

TDs by constituency

The list of the 166 TDs elected is given in alphabetical order by Dáil constituency.[2]

Members of the 24th Dáil
Constituency	Name	Party
Carlow–Kilkenny	Liam Aylward		Fianna Fáil
	Kieran Crotty		Fine Gael
	Dick Dowling		Fine Gael
	M. J. Nolan		Fianna Fáil
	Séamus Pattison		Labour
Cavan–Monaghan	John Conlan		Fine Gael
	Tom Fitzpatrick		Fine Gael
	Jimmy Leonard		Fianna Fáil
	Rory O'Hanlon		Fianna Fáil
	John Wilson		Fianna Fáil
Clare	Sylvester Barrett		Fianna Fáil
	Donal Carey		Fine Gael
	Brendan Daly		Fianna Fáil
	Madeleine Taylor-Quinn		Fine Gael
Cork East	Michael Ahern		Fianna Fáil
	Myra Barry		Fine Gael
	Patrick Hegarty		Fine Gael
	Ned O'Keeffe		Fianna Fáil
Cork North-Central	Bernard Allen		Fine Gael
	Liam Burke		Fine Gael
	Denis Lyons		Fianna Fáil
	Toddy O'Sullivan		Labour
	Dan Wallace		Fianna Fáil
Cork North-West	Donal Creed		Fine Gael
	Frank Crowley		Fine Gael
	Donal Moynihan		Fianna Fáil
Cork South-Central	Peter Barry		Fine Gael
	Hugh Coveney		Fine Gael
	Eileen Desmond		Labour
	Gene Fitzgerald		Fianna Fáil
	Pearse Wyse		Fianna Fáil
Cork South-West	Jim O'Keeffe		Fine Gael
	P. J. Sheehan		Fine Gael
	Joe Walsh		Fianna Fáil
Donegal North-East	Neil Blaney		Independent Fianna Fáil
	Hugh Conaghan		Fianna Fáil
	Paddy Harte		Fine Gael
Donegal South-West	Clement Coughlan		Fianna Fáil
	Pat "the Cope" Gallagher		Fianna Fáil
	Dinny McGinley		Fine Gael
Dublin Central	Bertie Ahern		Fianna Fáil
	George Colley		Fianna Fáil
	Alice Glenn		Fine Gael
	Tony Gregory		Independent
	Michael Keating		Fine Gael
Dublin North	John Boland		Fine Gael
	Ray Burke		Fianna Fáil
	Nora Owen		Fine Gael
Dublin North-Central	Vincent Brady		Fianna Fáil
	Richard Bruton		Fine Gael
	George Birmingham		Fine Gael
	Charles Haughey		Fianna Fáil
Dublin North-East	Michael Joe Cosgrave		Fine Gael
	Liam Fitzgerald		Fianna Fáil
	Maurice Manning		Fine Gael
	Michael Woods		Fianna Fáil
Dublin North-West	Michael Barrett		Fianna Fáil
	Proinsias De Rossa		Workers' Party
	Mary Flaherty		Fine Gael
	Jim Tunney		Fianna Fáil
Dublin South	Niall Andrews		Fianna Fáil
	Séamus Brennan		Fianna Fáil
	Nuala Fennell		Fine Gael
	John Kelly		Fine Gael
	Alan Shatter		Fine Gael
Dublin South-Central	Ben Briscoe		Fianna Fáil
	Frank Cluskey		Labour
	Gay Mitchell		Fine Gael
	Fergus O'Brien		Fine Gael
	John O'Connell		Independent
Dublin South-East	Gerard Brady		Fianna Fáil
	Joe Doyle		Fine Gael
	Garret FitzGerald		Fine Gael
	Ruairi Quinn		Labour
Dublin South-West	Mary Harney		Fianna Fáil
	Michael O'Leary		Fine Gael
	Mervyn Taylor		Labour
	Seán Walsh		Fianna Fáil
Dublin West	Eileen Lemass		Fianna Fáil
	Brian Lenihan		Fianna Fáil
	Tomás Mac Giolla		Workers' Party
	Jim Mitchell		Fine Gael
	Liam Skelly		Fine Gael
Dún Laoghaire	David Andrews		Fianna Fáil
	Monica Barnes		Fine Gael
	Seán Barrett		Fine Gael
	Barry Desmond		Labour
	Liam T. Cosgrave		Fine Gael
Galway East	Paul Connaughton Snr		Fine Gael
	Michael P. Kitt		Fianna Fáil
	Noel Treacy		Fianna Fáil
Galway West	Fintan Coogan Jnr		Fine Gael
	John Donnellan		Fine Gael
	Frank Fahey		Fianna Fáil
	Máire Geoghegan-Quinn		Fianna Fáil
	Bobby Molloy		Fianna Fáil
Kerry North	Denis Foley		Fianna Fáil
	Tom McEllistrim		Fianna Fáil
	Dick Spring		Labour
Kerry South	Michael Begley		Fine Gael
	Michael Moynihan		Labour
	John O'Leary		Fianna Fáil
Kildare	Joseph Bermingham		Labour
	Alan Dukes		Fine Gael
	Bernard Durkan		Fine Gael
	Charlie McCreevy		Fianna Fáil
	Paddy Power		Fianna Fáil
Laois–Offaly	Ger Connolly		Fianna Fáil
	Bernard Cowen		Fianna Fáil
	Tom Enright		Fine Gael
	Oliver J. Flanagan		Fine Gael
	Liam Hyland		Fianna Fáil
Limerick East	Michael Noonan		Fine Gael
	Willie O'Dea		Fianna Fáil
	Tom O'Donnell		Fine Gael
	Desmond O'Malley		Fianna Fáil
	Frank Prendergast		Labour
Limerick West	Gerry Collins		Fianna Fáil
	Michael J. Noonan		Fianna Fáil
	William O'Brien		Fine Gael
Longford–Westmeath	Patrick Cooney		Fine Gael
	Gerry L'Estrange		Fine Gael
	Mary O'Rourke		Fianna Fáil
	Albert Reynolds		Fianna Fáil
Louth	Michael Bell		Labour
	Pádraig Faulkner		Fianna Fáil
	Séamus Kirk		Fianna Fáil
	Brendan McGahon		Fine Gael
Mayo East	Seán Calleary		Fianna Fáil
	P. J. Morley		Fianna Fáil
	Paddy O'Toole		Fine Gael
Mayo West	Pádraig Flynn		Fianna Fáil
	Denis Gallagher		Fianna Fáil
	Enda Kenny		Fine Gael
Meath	John Bruton		Fine Gael
	John Farrelly		Fine Gael
	Jim Fitzsimons		Fianna Fáil
	Colm Hilliard		Fianna Fáil
	Frank McLoughlin		Labour
Roscommon	Seán Doherty		Fianna Fáil
	Terry Leyden		Fianna Fáil
	Liam Naughten		Fine Gael
Sligo–Leitrim	Matt Brennan		Fianna Fáil
	Joe McCartin		Fine Gael
	Ray MacSharry		Fianna Fáil
	Ted Nealon		Fine Gael
Tipperary North	David Molony		Fine Gael
	Michael O'Kennedy		Fianna Fáil
	John Ryan		Labour
Tipperary South	Seán Byrne		Fianna Fáil
	Brendan Griffin		Fine Gael
	Seán McCarthy		Fianna Fáil
	Seán Treacy		Labour
Waterford	Edward Collins		Fine Gael
	Austin Deasy		Fine Gael
	Jackie Fahey		Fianna Fáil
	Donal Ormonde		Fianna Fáil
Wexford	John Browne		Fianna Fáil
	Hugh Byrne		Fianna Fáil
	Michael D'Arcy		Fine Gael
	Avril Doyle		Fine Gael
	Ivan Yates		Fine Gael
Wicklow	Paudge Brennan		Fianna Fáil
	Gemma Hussey		Fine Gael
	Liam Kavanagh		Labour
	Godfrey Timmins		Fine Gael

Changes

Date	Constituency	Loss		Gain		Note
14 December 1982	Cavan–Monaghan		Fine Gael		Ceann Comhairle	Tom Fitzpatrick takes office as Ceann Comhairle[1]
1 February 1983	Donegal South-West		Fianna Fáil			Death of Clement Coughlan
8 February 1983	Roscommon		Fianna Fáil		Independent	Seán Doherty resigns Fianna Fáil whip after revelations of the phone tapping scandal emerged[3]
13 May 1983	Donegal South-West				Fianna Fáil	Cathal Coughlan holds the seat vacated by the death of his brother Clement Coughlan
17 September 1983	Dublin Central		Fianna Fáil			Death of George Colley
23 November 1983	Dublin Central				Fianna Fáil	Tom Leonard holds seat vacated by the death of Colley
24 February 1984	Laois–Offaly		Fianna Fáil			Death of Bernard Cowen
18 May 1984	Limerick East		Fianna Fáil		Independent	Desmond O'Malley loses Fianna Fáil whip after support for New Ireland Forum Report[4]
14 June 1984	Laois–Offaly				Fianna Fáil	Brian Cowen holds seat vacated by the death of his father Bernard Cowen
5 December 1984	Roscommon		Independent		Fianna Fáil	Seán Doherty readmitted to parliamentary party[5]
18 February 1985	Dublin South-Central		Independent		Fianna Fáil	John O'Connell joins Fianna Fáil[6]
21 February 1985	Tipperary South		Labour		Independent	Seán Treacy leaves Labour after voting against Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Bill 1985
27 November 1985	Dublin South-West		Fianna Fáil		Independent	Mary Harney loses Fianna Fáil whip after voting for the Anglo-Irish Agreement[7]
21 December 1985	Limerick East		Independent		Progressive Democrats	Desmond O'Malley founds the Progressive Democrats as leader
21 December 1985	Dublin South-West		Independent		Progressive Democrats	Mary Harney founds the Progressive Democrats
20 January 1986	Cork South-Central		Fianna Fáil		Progressive Democrats	Pearse Wyse leaves Fianna Fáil and joins the Progressive Democrats
23 January 1986	Galway West		Fianna Fáil		Progressive Democrats	Bobby Molloy leaves Fianna Fáil and joins the Progressive Democrats
9 April 1986	Dublin Central		Fine Gael		Progressive Democrats	Michael Keating leaves Fine Gael and joins the Progressive Democrats[8]
10 June 1986	Kildare		Labour		Independent	Joseph Bermingham leaves Labour Party[9]
9 December 1986	Dublin Central		Fine Gael		Independent	Alice Glenn leaves Fine Gael[10]
21 June 1986	Donegal South-West		Fianna Fáil			Death of Cathal Coughlan

References

1. "Election of Ceann Comhairle". Dáil Debates – Vol. 339 No. 1. 14 December 1982. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
2. "TDs & Senators (24th Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
3. Walsh, Dick (9 February 1983). "Doherty resigns whip as Haughey ponders reshuffle". The Irish Times. p. 1.
4. "O'Malley says he lost vote but won debate". The Irish Times. 19 May 1984. p. 8. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
5. Walsh, Dick (6 December 1984). "A swift and painless return for Doherty". The Irish Times. p. 7.
6. "O'Connell joins FF". The Irish Times. 19 February 1985.
7. Coghlan, Denis (27 November 1985). "Harney to lose FF Whip today". The Irish Times. p. 6. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
8. Cooney, John (10 April 1986). "Coalition Dail majority at one as Keating quits". The Irish Times. p. 1.
9. Yeates, Padraig (11 June 1986). "Bermingham resignation rooted in left–right rivalry". The Irish Times. p. 10. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
10. Cooney, John (28 November 1986). "Glenn quits and denies sectarianism". The Irish Times. p. 8. Retrieved 24 November 2021.

External links

• Houses of the Oireachtas: Debates: 24th Dáil