DÁIL PROCEDURE:OUTGOING MINISTER for Finance Brian Lenihan will take the place of Taoiseach Brian Cowen at the head of the Government benches when Dáil proceedings begin at noon tomorrow.
Mr Cowen, having retired from politics, is no longer a TD and Mr Lenihan will be the most senior member of the outgoing Government in attendance.
Sinn Féin and the Independent TDs are to sit with Fianna Fáil on the Government benches for the early part of the proceedings, until the expected election of Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny as taoiseach.
The sitting begins with Clerk of the Dáil Kieran Coughlan reading the proclamation convening Dáil Éireann and announcing the names and constituencies of all the members elected, as well as the returning officers for each constituency.
The first business of the new Dáil is to elect a ceann comhairle, who makes a brief introductory statement followed by a declaration of impartiality before taking the chair.
Various names have been linked to this position, including Fine Gael’s Seán Barrett and Brendan Howlin and Ruairí Quinn of Labour.
This part of the business should be completed by about 1pm. The election of a new taoiseach then follows and each party or “coalition of parties” may nominate a candidate for the office.
Following the expected election of the Fine Gael leader with the support of TDs from his own party and Labour, there will be statements from himself and other leaders.
This is expected to conclude about 1.30pm and the House will then be suspended for two hours while Mr Kenny goes to Áras an Uachtaráin to receive his seal of office from President Mary McAleese. The Dáil resumes on his return and he will move to the government side of the House, accompanied by the proposed members of his new cabinet. The new taoiseach proposes the list of ministerial nominees to the House and this is followed by a time-limited debate and a vote.
After the expected approval of the new ministers, they adjourn to Áras an Uachtaráin, where the President formally appoints them and presents them with their seals of office.
The state of the parties after the election is: Fine Gael 76; Labour 37; Fianna Fáil 20; Sinn Féin 14 and Independents/Others 19.
Given the dramatic alteration in party strengths, seating arrangements in the House have been subjected to a new configuration.
Fine Gael, on its own, will occupy the sections of the Dáil chamber where Fianna Fáil and the Green Party were formerly seated.
Labour will remain in the middle section, where the party has sat for the last 14 years, but such is the strength of the party now that two of its TDs will sit in the back row of the main Opposition benches.
Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin will share the front row of the main Opposition benches, with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin taking the seat previously occupied by Mr Kenny.
The Independent TDs will occupy the so-called “bullpen” to the left of the Fianna Fáil leader, consisting of four rows with three seats each, and the remainder will sit in the back row of the main Opposition section.
On the question of deputies’ attire, the draft code of parliamentary standards approved by the Committee on Procedures and Privileges in 2003 states that: “Members should dress in a manner that reflects the dignity of the House.”
Moves are under way among Independent and United Left Alliance members to form a technical group with equivalent standing to a political party and a meeting is to take place at 2pm this afternoon with Finian McGrath TD in the chair.
