Dáil procedure:Bertie Ahern will not have to name his new cabinet immediately - if he is re-elected taoiseach tomorrow - under the rules of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
"Once a taoiseach is elected, it is for the House to decide whether to adjourn or to take nominations for members of government. Neither the Constitution nor Standing Orders have anything to say on this. It is a matter for the business of the House itself," a spokesman for the Houses of the Oireachtas said yesterday in a briefing note.
However, the Dáil must first agree on the selection of a new ceann comhairle before anything else can happen. If it fails to do so, then the House will have to adjourn until a choice can be agreed.
The selection of the ceann comhairle must occur first because the Houses of the Oireachtas were legally advised in 1992 that the chair had to be filled before nominations for a taoiseach could be heard.
The place of the ceann comhairle is taken by the Clerk of the Dáil, Kieran Coughlan, until the House agrees, although his role is limited to putting a motion to the Dáil that it should adjourn. If the Dáil fails to elect a taoiseach, it can adjourn to another day, although the motion necessary to bring about an adjournment can be debated before being voted on.
Mr Ahern's candidature for the post will be the first to be put to the test. If he wins, the hopes of Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny to assume the post will fall without a vote.
"Convention is that a motion 'that the outgoing taoiseach be nominated' to the post is proposed first. It is usually seconded, though it is not required to be.
"According to convention, the main opposition party then makes a nomination. Others may also do so. There is then a single debate on the various nominations for taoiseach.
"When this debate concludes, the questions on the motions nominating individuals as taoiseach are put in the order in which they were moved - outgoing taoiseach first," the briefing note stated.
