Powers
The Presidential Commission fulfills all functions and duties of the office of President of Ireland when the office of President is vacant, or when the President is unavailable.
Vacancy may occur:
- on the death of the incumbent, as in 1974;
- on the resignation of the incumbent, as in 1976 and 1997;
- by impeachment of the incumbent, which has never happened.
- in the short interval between the conclusion of one president's term of office and the inauguration of a successor the next day — although the Presidential Commission has never been required to act in this time;
The Presidential Commission has often acted when the President is abroad, typically while making a state visit. When the government of the 26th Dáil collapsed in November 1992, president Mary Robinson was abroad. The resignation of the Progressive Democrats ministers, the appointment by Taoiseach Albert Reynolds of caretaker Fianna Fáil replacement ministers, and Reynolds' request for a dissolution of the Dáil, were all effected by the Presidential Commission. Temporary illness may also indispose the President. No President has ever refused to fulfil any of the duties of office.
Read more about this topic: Presidential Commission (Ireland)
Famous quotes containing the word powers:
“I have come slowly into possession of such powers as I have ... I receive the opinions of my day. I do not conceive them. But I receive them into a vivid mind.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“To receive applause for works which do not demand all our powers hinders our advance towards a perfecting of our spirit. It usually means that thereafter we stand still.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)
“He who is conversant with the supernal powers will not worship these inferior deities of the wind, waves, tide, and sunshine. But we would not disparage the importance of such calculations as we have described. They are truths in physics because they are true in ethics.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)