The 28th Dáil was elected at the 1997 general election on 6 June 1997 and met on 26 June 1997. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It sat with the 21st Seanad as the two Houses of the Oireachtas.
| 28th Dáil | |||||||||||||
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| Overview | |||||||||||||
| Legislative body | Dáil Éireann | ||||||||||||
| Jurisdiction | Ireland | ||||||||||||
| Meeting place | Leinster House | ||||||||||||
| Term | 26 June 1997 – 25 April 2002 | ||||||||||||
| Election | 1997 general election | ||||||||||||
| Government | 25th government of Ireland | ||||||||||||
| Members | 166 | ||||||||||||
| Ceann Comhairle | Séamus Pattison | ||||||||||||
| Taoiseach | Bertie Ahern | ||||||||||||
| Tánaiste | Mary Harney | ||||||||||||
| Chief Whip | Séamus Brennan | ||||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition | Michael Noonan — John Bruton until 9 February 2001 | ||||||||||||
| Sessions | |||||||||||||
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The 28th Dáil was dissolved by President Mary McAleese on 25 April 2002, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. The 28th Dáil lasted 1,765 days, the 2nd longest after the 10th Dáil.
Composition of the 28th Dáil
edit| Party | June 1997 | Apr. 2002 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | Fianna Fáil | 77 | 73 |  4
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| Fine Gael | 54 | 54 | 
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| Labour | 17 | 20 |  3
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| ● | Progressive Democrats | 4 | 4 |
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| Democratic Left | 4 | — | 4
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| Green | 2 | 2 |
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| Sinn Féin | 1 | 1 |
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| Socialist Party | 1 | 1 |
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| Independent | 6 | 10 | 4
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| Ceann Comhairle | — | 1 | 1
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| Total | 166 | |||
Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats, denoted with bullets (●), formed the 25th government of Ireland.
Graphical representation
editThis is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 28th Dáil from June 1997. This was not the official seating plan.
Ceann Comhairle
editOn 26 June 1997, Séamus Pattison (Lab) was proposed by Dick Spring and seconded by Mary O'Rourke for the position of Ceann Comhairle. Pattison was approved without a vote.[1]
List of TDs
editThis is a list of TDs elected to Dáil Éireann in the 1997 general election, arranged by party.[2] This table is a record of the 1997 general election results. The Changes table below records all changes in membership and party affiliation.
Changes
edit| Date | Constituency | Loss | Gain | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 June 1997 | Carlow–Kilkenny | Labour | Ceann Comhairle | Séamus Pattison takes office as Ceann Comhairle[1] | ||
| 25 September 1997 | Limerick East | Labour | Death of Jim Kemmy | |||
| 20 October 1997 | Dublin North | Fianna Fáil | Ray Burke resigns from Dáil Éireann | |||
| 11 March 1998 | Limerick East | Labour | Jan O'Sullivan holds the seat vacated by the death of Jim Kemmy | |||
| 11 March 1998 | Dublin North | Labour | Seán Ryan takes the seat vacated by Ray Burke | |||
| 14 March 1998 | Cork South-Central | Fine Gael | Death of Hugh Coveney | |||
| 13 October 1998 | Louth | Labour | Independent | Michael Bell resigns from the Labour Party | ||
| 23 October 1998 | Cork South-Central | Fine Gael | Simon Coveney holds the seat vacated by the death of his father Hugh Coveney | |||
| 30 November 1998 | Louth | Independent | Labour | Michael Bell rejoins the Labour Party | ||
| 24 January 1999 | Dublin North-West | Democratic Left | Labour | Proinsias De Rossa joins the Labour Party in a merger with Democratic Left | ||
| 24 January 1999 | Dublin South-West | Democratic Left | Labour | Pat Rabbitte joins the Labour Party in a merger with Democratic Left | ||
| 24 January 1999 | Dún Laoghaire | Democratic Left | Labour | Eamon Gilmore joins the Labour Party in a merger with Democratic Left | ||
| 24 January 1999 | Wicklow | Democratic Left | Labour | Liz McManus joins the Labour Party in a merger with Democratic Left | ||
| 22 February 1999 | Dublin South-Central | Labour | Death of Pat Upton | |||
| 24 February 1999 | Mayo | Fianna Fáil | Independent | Beverley Flynn resigns from Fianna Fáil | ||
| 27 October 1999 | Dublin South-Central | Labour | Mary Upton holds the seat vacated by the death of her brother Pat Upton | |||
| 3 November 1999 | Mayo | Independent | Fianna Fáil | Beverley Flynn rejoins Fianna Fáil | ||
| 9 February 2000 | Kerry North | Fianna Fáil | Independent | Denis Foley resigns from Fianna Fáil | ||
| 20 March 2000 | Tipperary South | Labour | Death of Michael Ferris | |||
| 7 June 2000 | Dublin West | Fianna Fáil | Independent | Liam Lawlor resigns from Fianna Fáil | ||
| 22 June 2000 | Tipperary South | Independent | Séamus Healy takes the seat vacated by the death of Michael Ferris | |||
| 20 September 2000 | Tipperary South | Fine Gael | Death of Theresa Ahearn | |||
| 11 April 2001 | Mayo | Fianna Fáil | Independent | Beverley Flynn is expelled from Fianna Fáil | ||
| 1 July 2001 | Tipperary South | Fine Gael | Tom Hayes (FG) holds the seat vacated by the death of Theresa Ahearn | |||
References
edit- ^ a b "Election of Ceann Comhairle – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Vol. 480 No. 1". Houses of the Oireachtas. 26 June 1997. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ "TDs & Senators (28th Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas.