The President also represents the people and does so in many different ways. He or she receives foreign Heads of State on visits to Ireland and represents the Irish people on State visits abroad. At home the President undertakes a wide range of engagements with particular emphasis on valuing the contribution of local community and self-help groups and in promoting peace throughout Ireland.
The 266 members of the Irish Houses of Parliament meet in the Leinster House, as it is called, an 18th century Georgian town house of the FitzGerald family, the Dukes of Leinster.
Inside, in a small, graceful semicircular blue room, sit the 60 Senators, engaged in debates which by tradition and because of the slight influence of the Senate are conducted in aquite courteous manner. .
Away on the other side of the house, In a large semicircle, a former lecture theatre added to the original house, the 166 members of the Dail meet more often than the Senate, normally on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, in a more noisy and confrontational atmosphere.
Now I want to tell you more about the Dail or House of Representatives, also referred to as the "Lower House-. .
By law, a General Election to a House of Representatives must be held at least once every five years. Every citizen at the age of 18 and over is allowed to vote. .
An Irish voter in a general election has a range of options when standing in the voting booth. However, it would take up too much time to explain the electoral system, which is an extremely democratic one.
For electoral purposes, the country is divided into areas known as constituencies. Each constituency elects either three, four or five members. Under the Constitution there must be at least one member for every 20,000 to 30,000 people and at present Dail there are 166 members representing 41 constituencies. The constituencies must be revised at least once in every twelve years.
