Members of the 30th Dáil and Ruairi Quinn (Lab). Following a vote, John O'Donoghue was elected to this position. The position of Taoiseach was contested by Bertie Ahern (FF) and Enda Kenny (FG). Following a vote Bertie Ahern was elected to this position, making it his third consecutive term in office. On 7 May 2008, Brian Cowen was elected Taoiseach in place of Ahern, who had resigned. Séamus Kirk was elected Ceann Comhairle on 13 October 2009 following the resignation of O'Donoghue. Government coalition parties are denoted by "●". This is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 30th Dáil from January 2011, shortly
Public service of the Republic of Ireland of the civil service is the Secretary General to the Government, currently Martin Fraser. The Secretary General to the Government is a dual-hatted position as they also head up the Department of the Taoiseach, a government department analogous to a cabinet office in other countries. The Civil Service of the State however is a relatively small component of the overall civil service, and its members are expected to be absolutely independent of the government, in addition to normal political independence which is expected. The Civil Service of the State typically comprises specialised agencies such as the Revenue Commissioners, Central Statistics