| Tánaiste | |
|---|---|
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| Executive branch of the Irish Government | |
| Style | Tánaiste Irish:A Thánaiste |
| Type | Deputy prime minister |
| Status | Cabinet minister |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | Taoiseach |
| Seat | Dublin, Ireland |
| Nominator | Taoiseach |
| Appointer | President of Ireland (on theadvice of theTaoiseach) |
| Inaugural holder | Seán T. O'Kelly[1] |
| Formation | 29 December 1937[1] |
| Salary | €229,473(2025)[2] (including €115,953TD salary)[3] |
TheTánaiste (/ˈtɔːnɪʃtə/TAW-nish-tə,[4]Irish:[ˈt̪ˠaːn̪ˠəʃtʲə]ⓘ) is the second-ranking member of thegovernment of Ireland and the holder of its second-most senior office.[5][6] It is the equivalent of thedeputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems.
The Tánaiste is appointed by thepresident of Ireland on the advice of theTaoiseach. The current office holder isSimon Harris,TD, who was appointed on 23 January 2025.[7]
Under theGaelic system oftanistry, the wordtánaiste (pluraltánaistí,pronounced[ˈt̪ˠaːn̪ˠəʃtʲiː],approximately/ˈtɔːnɪʃtiː/) had been used for the heir of the chief (taoiseach) or king (rí).[citation needed] The word was adopted in the 1937Constitution of Ireland as the title for a member of the government nominated by the Taoiseach to act in their place as needed during periods of the Taoiseach's temporary absence.
Tánaiste is the official title of the deputy head of government in both English and Irish, and is not used for other countries' deputy prime ministers, who are referred to in Irish by the generic termleas-phríomh-aire,pronounced[ˈl̠ʲasˠˌfʲɾʲiːwˈaɾʲə],approximately/ˌlæsfriːˈvɛərə/LASS-free-VAIR-ə. The longer Irish form,an Tánaiste, is sometimes used in English instead of "the Tánaiste".
The office was created in 1937 under the newConstitution of Ireland and replaced the previous office ofVice-President of the Executive Council, which had existed under theConstitution of the Irish Free State, and which was first held byKevin O'Higgins ofCumann na nGaedheal from 1922 to 1927.
The Taoiseach nominates one member of the Government to the office who is required to be a member ofDáil Éireann.[8] The nominee then receives their seal of office from the President of Ireland in recognition of the appointment. The Tánaiste acts in the place of the Taoiseach during a temporary absence. In the event of the Taoiseach's death or permanent incapacitation, the Tánaiste acts as Taoiseach until another is appointed.[9] The Tánaiste is,ex officio, a member of theCouncil of State. The Tánaiste chairs meetings of the government in the absence of the Taoiseach and may take questions on their behalf in the Dáil orSeanad.
Aside from those duties, the title is largely honorific as the Constitution does not confer any additional powers on the office holder over and above the other members of the Government. In theory, the Tánaiste could be aminister without portfolio, but every Tánaiste has in parallel held a ministerial portfolio as head of aDepartment of State. TheDepartment of the Taoiseach is a Department of State, but there is no equivalent for the Tánaiste.Dick Spring in theRainbow Coalition (1994–1997) had an official "Office of the Tánaiste", but other parties have not used that nomenclature.[10] Under Spring,Eithne Fitzgerald was "Minister of State at the Office of the Tánaiste", with responsibility for co-ordinating Labour policy in the coalition.[11][12]
Under acoalition government, the Tánaiste is typically the leader of the second-largest coalition partner, just as the Taoiseach is usually leader of the coalition's senior partner. However, during the coalition governments in1989–1992 and2007–2011, the position was held by Fianna Fáil's deputy leader, rather than the leader of a junior partner. As part of arotating Taoiseach agreement since2020, the role of Tánaiste gained increased prominence and responsibility in coordinating and Government policy as it was held byLeo Varadkar for the first half of the Government's term in office prior to his appointment as Taoiseach andMicheál Martin in the second half.[13]
The office of Tánaiste is as yet the highest government rank attained by a woman Minister.[14]
Four Tánaistí later held the office of Taoiseach:Seán Lemass,Bertie Ahern,Brian Cowen, andLeo Varadkar (his second term as Taoiseach). Varadkar is also one of three Tánaistí, withMicheál Martin andSimon Harris, to have previously held the office of Taoiseach before becoming Tánaiste. Two Tánaistí were later elected asPresident of Ireland:Seán T. O'Kelly andErskine H. Childers.
This is agraphicallifespan timeline of Tánaistí. They are listed in order of office (Lemass, Norton, and Spring are shown in order of their first terms).
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