# 30th Dáil

The 30th Dáil was elected at the 2007 general election on 24 May 2007 and met on 14 June 2007. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It sat with the 23rd Seanad as the two Houses of the Oireachtas.
The 30th Dáil lasted 3 years, 232 days, and saw a change of Taoiseach from Bertie Ahern to Brian Cowen. The 30th Dáil was dissolved by President Mary McAleese on 1 February 2011, at the request of the Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

## Composition of the 30th Dáil

| Party | Party | May 2007 | Jan. 2011 | Change |
| ● | Fianna Fáil | 78 | 71 | 7 |
| | Fine Gael | 51 | 51 | |
| | Labour | 20 | 20 | |
| ● | Green | 6 | 6 | |
| | Sinn Féin | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| ● | Progressive Democrats | 2 | — | 2 |
| | Independent | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| | Ceann Comhairle | — | 1 | 1 |
| | Vacant | — | 4 | 4 |
| Total | Total | 166 | 166 | |
On 14 June 2007, Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats, denoted with bullets (●), formed the 27th government of Ireland, led by Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach. On 7 May 2008, after the resignation of Ahern, the parties formed the 28th government of Ireland, led by Brian Cowen as Taoiseach.

### Graphical representation

This is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 30th Dáil in January 2011, shortly before its dissolution. This was not the official seating plan.

## Ceann Comhairle

* Ceann Comhairle:
** John O'Donoghue (Fianna Fáil), until 13 October 2009
** Séamus Kirk (Fianna Fáil), from 13 October 2009
* Leas-Cheann Comhairle: Brendan Howlin (Labour Party), from 26 June 2007
On 14 June 2007, John O'Donoghue (FF) was proposed by Bertie Ahern for the position of Ceann Comhairle. Ruairi Quinn (Lab) was proposed by Pat Rabbitte and seconded by Enda Kenny. O'Donoghue was approved by a vote of 90 to 75.
On 13 October 2009, O'Donoghue resigned as Ceann Comhairle. Séamus Kirk was proposed by Brian Cowen and seconded by Mary Coughlan. Dinny McGinley (FG) was proposed by Enda Kenny and seconded by Pádraic McCormack. Kirk was approved by a vote of 87 to 51.

## Political leadership
### Government

* Taoiseach:
** Bertie Ahern, until 7 May 2008
** Brian Cowen, from 7 May 2008
* Tánaiste:
** Brian Cowen, until 7 May 2008
** Mary Coughlan, from 7 May 2008
* Leader of Fianna Fáil:
** Bertie Ahern, until 7 May 2008
** Brian Cowen, until 22 January 2011
** Micheál Martin, from 26 January 2011
* Leader of the Green Party:
** Trevor Sargent, until 17 July 2007
** John Gormley, from 17 July 2007(Left government on 23 January 2011)
* Leader of the Progressive Democrats:
** Mary Harney, until 17 April 2008
** Ciarán Cannon, until 24 March 2009
** Noel Grealish, from 24 March 2009 to 20 November 2009

### Opposition

* Leader of the Opposition and Leader of Fine Gael: Enda Kenny
* Leader of the Labour Party:
** Pat Rabbitte, until 6 September 2007
** Eamon Gilmore, from 6 September 2007
* Leader of the Technical Group: Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Sinn Féin), from 10 December 2010

## List of TDs

This is a list of TDs elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2007 general election, sorted by party. The Changes table below records all changes in party affiliation.
| Party | Name | Constituency |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Bertie Ahern | Dublin Central |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Dermot Ahern | Louth |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Michael Ahern | Cork East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Noel Ahern | Dublin North-West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Barry Andrews | Dún Laoghaire |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Chris Andrews | Dublin South-East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Seán Ardagh | Dublin South-Central |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Bobby Aylward | Carlow–Kilkenny |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Joe Behan | Wicklow |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Niall Blaney | Donegal North-East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Áine Brady | Kildare North |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Cyprian Brady | Dublin Central |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Johnny Brady | Meath West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Séamus Brennan | Dublin South |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | John Browne | Wexford |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Thomas Byrne | Meath East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Dara Calleary | Mayo |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Pat Carey | Dublin North-West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Niall Collins | Limerick West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Margaret Conlon | Cavan–Monaghan |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Seán Connick | Wexford |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Mary Coughlan | Donegal South-West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Brian Cowen | Laois–Offaly |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | John Cregan | Limerick West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Martin Cullen | Waterford |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | John Curran | Dublin Mid-West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Noel Dempsey | Meath West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Jimmy Devins | Sligo–North Leitrim |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Timmy Dooley | Clare |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Frank Fahey | Galway West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Michael Finneran | Roscommon–South Leitrim |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Michael Fitzpatrick | Kildare North |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Seán Fleming | Laois–Offaly |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Pat "the Cope" Gallagher | Donegal South-West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Mary Hanafin | Dún Laoghaire |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Seán Haughey | Dublin North-Central |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Máire Hoctor | Tipperary North |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Billy Kelleher | Cork North-Central |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Peter Kelly | Longford–Westmeath |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Brendan Kenneally | Waterford |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Michael Kennedy | Dublin North |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Tony Killeen | Clare |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Séamus Kirk | Louth |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Michael Kitt | Galway East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Tom Kitt | Dublin South |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Brian Lenihan | Dublin West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Conor Lenihan | Dublin South-West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Micheál Martin | Cork South-Central |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Jim McDaid | Donegal North-East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Tom McEllistrim | Kerry North |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Mattie McGrath | Tipperary South |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Michael McGrath | Cork South-Central |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | John McGuinness | Carlow–Kilkenny |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Martin Mansergh | Tipperary South |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | John Moloney | Laois–Offaly |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Michael Moynihan | Cork North-West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Michael Mulcahy | Dublin South-Central |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | M. J. Nolan | Carlow–Kilkenny |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Darragh O'Brien | Dublin North |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Éamon Ó Cuív | Galway West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Charlie O'Connor | Dublin South-West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Willie O'Dea | Limerick East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | John O'Donoghue | Kerry South |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Seán Ó Fearghaíl | Kildare South |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Noel O'Flynn | Cork North-Central |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Rory O'Hanlon | Cavan–Monaghan |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Batt O'Keeffe | Cork North-West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Ned O'Keeffe | Cork East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Mary O'Rourke | Longford–Westmeath |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Christy O'Sullivan | Cork South-West |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Peter Power | Limerick East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Seán Power | Kildare South |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Dick Roche | Wicklow |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Eamon Scanlon | Sligo–North Leitrim |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Brendan Smith | Cavan–Monaghan |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Noel Treacy | Galway East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Mary Wallace | Meath East |
| Fianna Fáil (78) | Michael Woods | Dublin North-East |
| Fine Gael (51) | Bernard Allen | Cork North-Central |
| Fine Gael (51) | James Bannon | Longford–Westmeath |
| Fine Gael (51) | Seán Barrett | Dún Laoghaire |
| Fine Gael (51) | Pat Breen | Clare |
| Fine Gael (51) | Richard Bruton | Dublin North-Central |
| Fine Gael (51) | Ulick Burke | Galway East |
| Fine Gael (51) | Catherine Byrne | Dublin South-Central |
| Fine Gael (51) | Joe Carey | Clare |
| Fine Gael (51) | Deirdre Clune | Cork South-Central |
| Fine Gael (51) | Paul Connaughton Snr | Galway East |
| Fine Gael (51) | Noel Coonan | Tipperary North |
| Fine Gael (51) | Simon Coveney | Cork South-Central |
| Fine Gael (51) | Seymour Crawford | Cavan–Monaghan |
| Fine Gael (51) | Michael Creed | Cork North-West |
| Fine Gael (51) | Lucinda Creighton | Dublin South-East |
| Fine Gael (51) | Michael W. D'Arcy | Wexford |
| Fine Gael (51) | John Deasy | Waterford |
| Fine Gael (51) | Jimmy Deenihan | Kerry North |
| Fine Gael (51) | Andrew Doyle | Wicklow |
| Fine Gael (51) | Bernard Durkan | Kildare North |
| Fine Gael (51) | Damien English | Meath West |
| Fine Gael (51) | Olwyn Enright | Laois–Offaly |
| Fine Gael (51) | Frank Feighan | Roscommon–South Leitrim |
| Fine Gael (51) | Charles Flanagan | Laois–Offaly |
| Fine Gael (51) | Terence Flanagan | Dublin North-East |
| Fine Gael (51) | Brian Hayes | Dublin South-West |
| Fine Gael (51) | Tom Hayes | Tipperary South |
| Fine Gael (51) | Phil Hogan | Carlow–Kilkenny |
| Fine Gael (51) | Paul Kehoe | Wexford |
| Fine Gael (51) | Enda Kenny | Mayo |
| Fine Gael (51) | Pádraic McCormack | Galway West |
| Fine Gael (51) | Shane McEntee | Meath East |
| Fine Gael (51) | Dinny McGinley | Donegal South-West |
| Fine Gael (51) | Joe McHugh | Donegal North-East |
| Fine Gael (51) | Olivia Mitchell | Dublin South |
| Fine Gael (51) | Denis Naughten | Roscommon–South Leitrim |
| Fine Gael (51) | Dan Neville | Limerick West |
| Fine Gael (51) | Michael Noonan | Limerick East |
| Fine Gael (51) | Kieran O'Donnell | Limerick East |
| Fine Gael (51) | Fergus O'Dowd | Louth |
| Fine Gael (51) | Jim O'Keeffe | Cork South-West |
| Fine Gael (51) | John O'Mahony | Mayo |
| Fine Gael (51) | John Perry | Sligo–North Leitrim |
| Fine Gael (51) | James Reilly | Dublin North |
| Fine Gael (51) | Michael Ring | Mayo |
| Fine Gael (51) | Alan Shatter | Dublin South |
| Fine Gael (51) | Tom Sheahan | Kerry South |
| Fine Gael (51) | P. J. Sheehan | Cork South-West |
| Fine Gael (51) | David Stanton | Cork East |
| Fine Gael (51) | Billy Timmins | Wicklow |
| Fine Gael (51) | Leo Varadkar | Dublin West |
| Labour Party (20) | Tommy Broughan | Dublin North-East |
| Labour Party (20) | Joan Burton | Dublin West |
| Labour Party (20) | Joe Costello | Dublin Central |
| Labour Party (20) | Eamon Gilmore | Dún Laoghaire |
| Labour Party (20) | Michael D. Higgins | Galway West |
| Labour Party (20) | Brendan Howlin | Wexford |
| Labour Party (20) | Ciarán Lynch | Cork South-Central |
| Labour Party (20) | Kathleen Lynch | Cork North-Central |
| Labour Party (20) | Liz McManus | Wicklow |
| Labour Party (20) | Brian O'Shea | Waterford |
| Labour Party (20) | Jan O'Sullivan | Limerick East |
| Labour Party (20) | Willie Penrose | Longford–Westmeath |
| Labour Party (20) | Ruairi Quinn | Dublin South-East |
| Labour Party (20) | Pat Rabbitte | Dublin South-West |
| Labour Party (20) | Seán Sherlock | Cork East |
| Labour Party (20) | Róisín Shortall | Dublin North-West |
| Labour Party (20) | Emmet Stagg | Kildare North |
| Labour Party (20) | Joanna Tuffy | Dublin Mid-West |
| Labour Party (20) | Mary Upton | Dublin South-Central |
| Labour Party (20) | Jack Wall | Kildare South |
| Green Party (6) | Ciarán Cuffe | Dún Laoghaire |
| Green Party (6) | Paul Gogarty | Dublin Mid-West |
| Green Party (6) | John Gormley | Dublin South-East |
| Green Party (6) | Eamon Ryan | Dublin South |
| Green Party (6) | Trevor Sargent | Dublin North |
| Green Party (6) | Mary White | Carlow–Kilkenny |
| Sinn Féin (4) | Martin Ferris | Kerry North |
| Sinn Féin (4) | Arthur Morgan | Louth |
| Sinn Féin (4) | Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin | Cavan–Monaghan |
| Sinn Féin (4) | Aengus Ó Snodaigh | Dublin South-Central |
| Progressive Democrats (2) | Noel Grealish | Galway West |
| Progressive Democrats (2) | Mary Harney | Dublin Mid-West |
| Independent (5) | Beverley Flynn | Mayo |
| Independent (5) | Tony Gregory | Dublin Central |
| Independent (5) | Jackie Healy-Rae | Kerry South |
| Independent (5) | Michael Lowry | Tipperary North |
| Independent (5) | Finian McGrath | Dublin North-Central |

## Changes

| Date | Constituency | Loss | Gain | Note |
| 14 June 2007 | Kerry South | Fianna Fáil | Ceann Comhairle | John O'Donoghue (FF) is elected Ceann Comhairle |
| 28 November 2007 | Cork East | Fianna Fáil | Independent | Ned O'Keeffe (FF) resigns from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party |
| 27 February 2008 | Cork East | Independent | Fianna Fáil | Ned O'Keeffe rejoins the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party |
| 8 April 2008 | Mayo | Independent | Fianna Fáil | Beverley Flynn (Ind) re-joins Fianna Fáil |
| 9 July 2008 | Dublin South | Fianna Fáil | | Death of Séamus Brennan (FF) |
| 17 October 2008 | Wicklow | Fianna Fáil | Independent | Joe Behan (FF) resigns from Fianna Fáil |
| 13 November 2008 | Donegal North-East | Fianna Fáil | Independent | Jim McDaid (FF) loses the Fianna Fáil party whip after abstaining in a vote on a health issue |
| 2 January 2009 | Dublin Central | Independent | | Death of Tony Gregory (Ind) |
| 5 June 2009 | Dublin South | | Fine Gael | George Lee (FG) gains the seat vacated by the death of Brennan |
| 5 June 2009 | Dublin Central | | Independent | Maureen O'Sullivan (Ind) holds the seat vacated by the death of Gregory |
| 5 June 2009 | Donegal South-West | Fianna Fáil | | Pat "the Cope" Gallagher (FF) elected as a Member of the European Parliament |
| 5 August 2009 | Sligo–North Leitrim | Fianna Fáil | Independent | Jimmy Devins (FF) resigns the Fianna Fáil party whip in protest at cuts in cancer services at Sligo General Hospital |
| 5 August 2009 | Sligo–North Leitrim | Fianna Fáil | Independent | Eamon Scanlon (FF) resigns the Fianna Fáil party whip in protest at cuts in cancer services at Sligo General Hospital |
| 13 October 2009 | Kerry South | Ceann Comhairle | Fianna Fáil | John O'Donoghue (FF) resigns as Ceann Comhairle |
| 13 October 2009 | Louth | Fianna Fáil | Ceann Comhairle | Séamus Kirk (FF) is elected Ceann Comhairle |
| 20 November 2009 | Dublin Mid-West | Progressive Democrats | Independent | Mary Harney (PD) becomes an Independent TD following the dissolution of the Progressive Democrats |
| 20 November 2009 | Galway West | Progressive Democrats | Independent | Noel Grealish (PD) becomes an Independent TD following the dissolution of the Progressive Democrats |
| 8 February 2010 | Dublin South | Fine Gael | | George Lee (FG) resigns from Dáil Éireann |
| 24 March 2010 | Waterford | Fianna Fáil | | Martin Cullen (FF) resigns from Dáil Éireann |
| 29 June 2010 | Tipperary South | Fianna Fáil | Independent | Mattie McGrath (FF) loses the Fianna Fáil party whip after voting against Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2010. Resigned from Fianna Fáil on 25 January 2011. |
| 2 November 2010 | Donegal North-East | Independent | | Jim McDaid (Ind) resigns from Dáil Éireann |
| 26 November 2010 | Donegal South-West | | Sinn Féin | Pearse Doherty (SF) takes the seat vacated by Gallagher's election to the European Parliament |
| 13 January 2011 | Sligo–North Leitrim | Independent | Fianna Fáil | Eamon Scanlon rejoins the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party |
| 25 January 2011 | Sligo–North Leitrim | Independent | Fianna Fáil | Jimmy Devins rejoins the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party |
| 28 January 2011 | Dublin South-Central | Fianna Fáil | | Seán Ardagh (FF) resigns from Dáil Éireann |
On 12 July 2010, Pearse Doherty was granted leave to bring judicial review against the government seeking a declaration that due to the length of the vacancy in Donegal South-West, the government was under a duty not to oppose a motion for a writ. On 3 November 2010, Nicholas Kearns, president of the High Court, made a declaration that there has been an unreasonable delay in moving the writ for the by-election in Donegal South-West. The writ was moved the following day. However, the moving of the writ was opposed for three remaining vacancies.