Government Buildings | |
---|---|
Tithe an Rialtais | |
![]() Main façade of Government Buildings | |
General information | |
Architectural style | Edwardian Baroque, neoclassical |
Location | Merrion Street, Dublin, Ireland |
Coordinates | 53°20′21″N6°15′13″W / 53.339167°N 6.253611°W |
Current tenants | Department of the Taoiseach, Office of the Attorney General, Department of Finance, Cabinet Office, Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, |
Construction started | 1904 |
Completed | 1922 |
Inaugurated | 1911 |
Renovated | 1989–1990 |
Cost | £225,000 pounds sterling (1904 est.) |
Renovation cost | £17.4 million Irish pounds (1990) |
Owner | Government of Ireland |
Technical details | |
Material | Portland Stone faced and Wicklow granite |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Sir Thomas Manly Deane |
Architecture firm | Sir Aston Webb |
Main contractor | McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd |
Renovating team | |
Architect(s) | Office of Public Works |
Renovating firm | Pierse Contracting |
Awards and prizes | RIAI Silver Medal for Conservation (1987–92) |
Government Buildings (Irish : Tithe an Rialtais) is a large Edwardian building enclosing a quadrangle on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland, in which several key offices of the Government of Ireland are located. Among the offices of State located in the building are:
The building that was to become Government Buildings was the last major public building constructed under British rule in what is now the Republic of Ireland. It was designed by Sir Aston Webb, a British architect who was later to redesign the façade of Buckingham Palace, and was built on the site of a row of Georgian houses that were being controversially demolished one by one as it was erected. The foundation stone was laid by King Edward VII in 1904, and the building was opened by King George V in 1911.
It was owned by the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, an agency of the Dublin Castle administration, and intended for use by the Royal College of Science. In June 1921, the Council Room was chosen as the location for the first meeting of the new Parliament of Southern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It proved a fiasco, as only 4 of 128 members of the House of Commons turned up, and 15 of the 64 Senators. [1]
With the coming into existence of the Irish Free State in December 1922, Leinster House, the headquarters of the Royal Dublin Society, located next door to the Royal College of Science, became the provisional seat of the Free State's parliament, Oireachtas Shaorstát Éireann . The Executive Council of the Irish Free State immediately commandeered part of the college as temporary office space. Two years later, the Free State decided to buy Leinster House outright from the RDS. Government usage of part of the Royal College of Science also became permanent.
From 1922 to 1991, the former Royal College of Science building was divided between a number of bodies. The wing to the right of the main entrance (the north wing) was used by the Department of the President, later in 1938 renamed Department of the Taoiseach. The Attorney General, the Department of Justice and other offices also occupied that wing of the building. The south wing was occupied permanently by the Department of Finance. The centre block of the courtyard under the dome was still used by the Royal College of Science, and later when it merged with University College Dublin, by students from the Faculty of Engineering. Over the decades, some departments moved out to purpose-built offices, leaving the north wing for the Taoiseach, Government Secretariat and Attorney General.
In the mid-1980s, increasingly unhappy at the cramped office space,[ citation needed ] Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald decided to convert the entire building for government use. This policy was implemented by his successor, Charles Haughey, who had the state sell a block of Georgian houses across the road, which up to then had been in state ownership, for £17 million to fund the rebuild. A new engineering faculty was also built on University College Dublin's Belfield campus at tens of millions of pounds.
Much of the original interior of the original building was gutted to facilitate the creation of a state-of-the-art new government office. Haughey finally moved into the new building in 1991. Critics of the expenditure, at a time when the Republic of Ireland was in financial difficulties, nicknamed the building the Chaz Mahal. [2] However, criticism of the redesigned building soon died away and it won major architectural awards for its design, with world leaders like British Prime Minister John Major praising it to then Taoiseach Albert Reynolds when he visited the building to meet him.[ citation needed ] The entrance hall is dominated by light streaming through Evie Hone's critically acclaimed stained glass window, My Four Green Fields .
The new building included a state-of-the-art suite of offices for the Taoiseach and staff, a set of committee rooms, new offices, canteen facilities, a helicopter pad and a new press briefing room. Originally the Office of Public Works had planned a new cabinet suite of rooms also. However, the Government opted to continue to use the Council Chamber which had been the cabinet room for all Irish governments since 1922.
Government Buildings are protected by the Garda Síochána and an armed company from the Military Police Corps.
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann and the office-holder must retain the support of a majority in the Dáil to remain in office.
Charles James Haughey was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. Haughey led four governments while serving as Taoiseach; December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from 1987 to 1992, Leader of the Opposition from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1979 to 1992, Minister for Social Welfare and for Health from 1977 to 1979, Minister for Finance from 1966 to 1970, Minister for Agriculture from 1964 to 1966, Minister for Justice from 1961 to 1964 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Justice from 1959 to 1961. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1957 to 1992.
Leinster House is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings of which the former ducal palace is the core, which house Oireachtas Éireann, its members and staff. The most recognisable part of the complex, and the "public face" of Leinster House continues to be the former ducal palace at the core of the complex.
A number of legislatures have existed in Ireland since mediaeval times. The first Irish legislature was the Parliament of Ireland. However, after its abolition, in 1801, there was no legislature in Ireland, of any kind until 1919. Since that date a number of legislatures have existed on the island.
Parliament House in Dublin, Ireland, was home to the Parliament of Ireland, and since 1803 has housed the Bank of Ireland. It was the world's first purpose-built bicameral parliament house. It is located at College Green.
Neil Terence Columba Blaney was an Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) representing Donegal East. A high-profile member of the party, Blaney served as a government minister several times; he was Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (1957), Minister for Local Government (1957–1966) and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries (1966–1970). In 1970 Blaney's career was radically altered when, alongside Charles Haughey, he was involved in the Arms Crisis and stood accused of clandestinely arranging to provide weapons to the newly-emergent Provisional Irish Republican Army. Although later acquitted of wrongdoing in an Irish court, Blaney involvement in the crisis saw him stripped of his ministries and eventually forced his expulsion from Fianna Fáil. A dogged political campaigner, Blaney managed to retain his seat in Donegal and remained a TD for another two decades, running under the banner of "Independent Fianna Fáil". In addition to being a TD, Blaney also entered into European politics, becoming a member of the European Parliament in 1979. Blaney was a holder of both offices when he died in 1995. Entering the Dáil as its youngest member, he left it as the oldest member.
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science from 2010 to 2014, Member of the European Court of Auditors from 2000 to 2010, Minister for Equality and Law Reform from November 1994 to December 1994, Minister for Justice from 1993 to 1994, Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications from 1992 to 1993, Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach from 1987 to 1989, Minister of State for Youth and Sport from March 1982 to December 1982, Minister for the Gaeltacht from 1979 to 1981, Minister of State at the Department of Industry, Commerce and Energy from 1978 to 1979 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1977 to 1978. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency from 1975 to 1997.
Síle de Valera is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister of State for Adult Education, Youth Affairs and Educational Disadvantage and Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands from 1997 to 2002. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 1981 and from 1987 to 2007. She was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 1979 to 1984.
James M. Gibbons was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Agriculture from 1970 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979, Minister for Defence from 1969 to 1970 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance from 1965 to 1969. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency from 1957 to 1981 and February 1982 to November 1982. He also served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1973 to 1977.
The Attorney General of Ireland is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does participate in cabinet meetings when invited and attends government meetings. The current attorney general is Rossa Fanning, SC.
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
Denis Gallagher was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He served as Minister for the Gaeltacht on two occasions.
Noel Treacy was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway East constituency from 1982 to 2011. He served as Minister of State in a number of departments over his career.
The Ministers and Secretaries Acts 1924 to 2020 is the legislation which governs the appointment of ministers to the Government of Ireland and the allocation of functions between departments of state. It is subject in particular to the provisions of Article 28 of the Constitution of Ireland. The Acts allow for the appointment of between 7 and 15 Ministers of Government across 17 Departments, and for the appointment of up to 20 junior ministers, titled Ministers of State, to assist the Ministers of Government in their powers and duties.
The Royal College of Science for Ireland (RCScI) was an institute for higher education in Dublin which existed from 1867 to 1926, specialising in physical sciences and applied science. It was originally based on St. Stephen's Green, moving in 1911 to a purpose-built "Royal College of Science" building on Merrion Street, now known as Government Buildings. In 1926 it was absorbed into University College Dublin (UCD) as the faculty of Science and Engineering.
Merrion Street is a major Georgian street on the southside of Dublin, Ireland, which runs along one side of Merrion Square. It is divided into Merrion Street Lower, Merrion Square West and Merrion Street Upper. It holds one entrance to the seat of the Irish Parliament, the Oireachtas, major government offices and two major cultural institutions.
Fianna Fáil was founded on 23 March 1926 when a group of Dáil deputies led by Éamon de Valera split from the original Sinn Féin. This happened because de Valera's motion calling for elected members be allowed to take their seats in the Dáil, if and when the controversial Oath of Allegiance was removed, failed to pass at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis. The new party adopted its name on 2 April of the same year. From the formation of the first Fianna Fáil government on 9 March 1932 until the 2011 general election, the party was in power for 61 of 79 years. Its longest continuous period in office was 15 years and 11 months. Its single longest period out of office, in that time, has been four years and four months. All eight of its party's leaders have served as Taoiseach. It was the largest party in Dáil Éireann at every general election from the 1932 general election until the 2011 general election, when it suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Irish state.
The Bar of Ireland is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, which was established in 1897. The Council is composed of twenty-five members: twenty who are elected, four co-opted, and the Attorney-General, who holds office ex officio. Every year, ten members are elected for two-year terms; five by senior counsel and five by junior counsel.