Presidential Commission (Ireland)
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The Presidential Commission (Irish: Coimisiún Uachtarán) is the collective vice-presidency of the Republic of Ireland.
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Membership
Three members serve on the Presidential Commission.
- Irish Chief Justice
- Ceann Comhairle - speaker of Dáil Éireann
- Cathaoirleach - chairman of Seanad Éireann
Powers
The Presidential Commission fulfils all functions and duties of the office of President of Ireland:
- when the presidency is vacant due to death, resignation, impeachment, or in the interregnum between the conclusion of one president's term of office and the inauguration of the next. (An Irish president's term of office technically expires on the day before the inauguration of their successor); or
- when the incumbent president is unavailable (eg, abroad, ill, otherwise engaged) or unwilling to act (should the president "refuse" to fulfill any of her duties and functions).
See President of Ireland for the President's powers and duties.
Origins
The Presidential Commission was created in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland. It was first used from December 1937, when the Constitution came into force, and June 1938, when the first President was inaugurated. Initially, as the Irish senate had not been constituted and elected, the seat on the Presidential Commission intended for the Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann was filled by the President of the High Court under the Transitory Provisions of the Constitution.