| Teachta Dála of Dáil Éireann | |
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| Oireachtas Éireann | |
| Style | Deputy (Irish:An Teachta) |
| Abbreviation | TD |
| Member of | Dáil Éireann |
| Reports to | |
| Seat | Leinster House |
| Appointer | Electorate of the Republic of Ireland |
| Term length | No more than 5 years; renewable |
| Constituting instrument | Articles 16−17, Constitution of Ireland |
| Formation | 18 December 1918 (106 years ago) (1918-12-18) |
| First holder | 1st Dáil |
| Salary | €113,679 per year[1] plus expenses[2] |
| Website | www |
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Administrative geography | ||||||||
ATeachta Dála (/ˌtjɒxtəˈdɔːlə/TYOKH-təDAW-lə;Irish:[ˌtʲaxt̪ˠəˈd̪ˠaːlˠa]ⓘ;[3] pluralTeachtaí Dála), abbreviated asTD (pluralTDanna inIrish,[4]TDs in English), is a member ofDáil Éireann, thelower house of theOireachtas, the parliament ofIreland. The official English translation of the term is "Dáil Deputy".[5][6] An equivalent position would be aMember of Parliament (MP) in the UK orMember of Congress in the USA.
Ireland is divided intoDáil constituencies, each of which elects three, four, or five TDs. Under theConstitution, the total number of TDs must be fixed at one TD for each 20,000 to 30,000 of the population.[7] There are 174 TDs in the34th Dáil, elected at the2024 general election under theElectoral (Amendment) Act 2023. The outgoingCeann Comhairle is automatically returned unless they announce their retirement before the dissolution of the Dáil.
A candidate for election as TD must be an Irish citizen and over 21 years of age. Members of the judiciary, theGarda Síochána, and the PermanentDefence Forces are disqualified from membership of the Dáil.[8]
The term was first used to describe those Irish parliamentarians[9] who were elected at the1918 general election, and who, rather than attending theBritish House of Commons atWestminster, to which they had been elected, assembled instead in theMansion House in Dublin on 21 January 1919 to create a new Irish parliament: theFirst Dáil Éireann. Initially, the termFeisire Dáil Eireann (F.D.E.) was mooted,[10] but 'Teachta' was used from the first meeting.[11] The term continued to be used after this First Dáil and was used to refer to later members of theIrish Republic's single-chamberDáil Éireann (or 'Assembly of Ireland') (1919–1922), members of theFree State Dáil (1922–1937), and of the modern Dáil Éireann.
The initials "TD" are placed after the surname of the elected TD. For example, the currentTaoiseach (head of government) is "Micheál Martin, TD". Thestyle used to refer to individual TDs during debates in Dáil Éireann is the member's surname preceded byDeputy (Irish:an Teachta): for example, "Deputy McDonald","an Teachta Ní Dhomhnaill/Bhean Úi Dhomhnaill"[12] or"an Teachta Ó Domhnaill".[13]
The basic salary of abackbench TD is €113,679.[14]Cabinet ministers andjunior ministers receive additional allowances. Office-holders (opposition party leaders,whips, the Ceann Comhairle, andLeas-Cheann Comhairle) also receive additional allowances.[15]
After controversy regarding alleged abuses of theOireachtas expenses provisions, the system was simplified in 2009 and 2010 into two allowances:[16][17][18][19]
Empower local Government so that our national representatives TDs don't engage in parochial politics./Cumhacht a thabhairt don Rialtas áitiúil ionas nach mbeidh ár gcuid ionadaithe náisiúnta, na TDanna, i mbun na polaitíochta paróistí.
The victorious group assumed the title of the Irish Republican party, and styled themselves not M.P., but F.D.E. (Feisire Dail Eireann, i.e. members of the Assembly of Ireland).
Tháinig na Teachtaí I gceann a chéile I nÁrus Árd-Mhéire Bhaile Átha Cliath ar a 3.30 iar nóin.
