2.1.,2.2.,2.3. ROI Local Government Institutions

2.1.There are 31 City and County Councils  with 949 members in them. Dublin City Council and Cork County Council are the largest.

1.1 Review ROI National Political Institutions

JUDICIARY

The Judiciary is combined of 7 courts. The line of courts is in the order as follows;

The District Courts, The Circuit Courts, The Central Criminal Courts, The High Courts and then The Supreme.

1.3.The Location and Balance of Powers

To begin to assess the location and balance of powers within the map, I’ll start by examining the departments with the largest land mass. The land mass given to each department is based on the money allocated to them as of the 2015 budget.

Social protection is the largest with 36.4% of the budget spent here. Next is health, where 23.8% is spent from the 2015 budget. Education and Skills has 16.8%. It then goes in order as follows;

Justice(4.3%),Transport(3.0%),Environment, Community & Local Gov.(2.5%),Agriculture, Food & The Marine(2.3%),Children & Youth Affairs(1.9%),Public Expenditure & Reform(1.9%),Defense(1.7%),Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation(1.5%),Foreign Affairs & Trade(1.3%),Finance(0.8%), Communications, Energy & Natural Resources(0.8%),Arts, Heritage & The Gaeltacht(0.5%),The Taoiseach(0.3%)

So, their land mass shows the money spent on each department, however, their importance is shown by their proximity to the department of The Taoiseach. As shown on the map is it seen that in closest proximity there is firstly The Oireachtas. After that, the Department of Justice & Equality. Then Defense, and Finance.

The furthest department from The Taoiseach is Arts, Heritage & The Gaeltacht. Followed by Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation. Then Transport, Tourism & Sport, and The Department of Agriculture, Food and The Marine.

The Formal Framework of Irish Government

This area of the map of the state shows us exactly who directly elects, nominates, is accountable to and appoints each member of The Oireachtas, government, the courts, the local governments and the European Parliament.