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
Government spending in the United Kingdom Government spending in the United Kingdom Central government spending in the United Kingdom, also called public expenditure, is the responsibility of the UK government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. In the budget for financial year 2016–17 , proposed total government spending was £772 billion. Spending per head is significantly higher in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland than it is in England. Scotland has historically produced more tax than people in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, although following a decline in the oil price in 2014, Scotland produced slightly less revenue than England per capita