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The Parliment
Parliament, subject to the obligations of EU membership, as provided in the Constitution of Ireland the sole and exclusive power of making laws is vested in the Oireachtas.

Government policy and administration may be examined and criticised in both Houses, but under the Constitution the Government is responsible to the D�il alone.

In the passage of legislation the primacy of the D�il is clearly shown in relation to Money Bills, on which the Seanad is empowered only to make recommendations (not amendments) and these must be made within twenty-one days.

D�il �ireann
At present D�il �ireann has 166 members called Teachta' D�la (TDs). Members are returned by the forty-one constituencies into which the country is divided. Under present arrangements, twelve constituencies return three members each, fifteen constituencies return four members each, and fourteen constituencies return five members each. No constituency may return less than three members. Under the Constitution the number of members shall from time to time be fixed by law, but the total number of members of D�il �ireann shall not be fixed at less than one member for each thirty thousand of the population, or at more than one member for each twenty thousand of the population. The ratio of elected members to population shall, as far as is practicable, be the same for each constituency throughout the country. The Houses of the Oireachtas must revise the constituencies at least once every twelve years.

Seanad �ireann has sixty members. Eleven members are nominated directly by the Taoiseach. Forty-three members are elected from five panels of candidates - The Cultural and Educational Panel, The Agricultural Panel, The Labour Panel, The Industrial and Commercial Panel and The Administrative Panel. Each panel consists of persons with knowledge and practical experience of the interests represented by the panel. The remaining six members are elected by two universities - three by the National University of Ireland and three by the University of Dublin. The powers of the Seanad, as defined by the Constitution, are in general less than those of the D�il. It has complementary powers with the D�il in broad areas such as the removal from office of a President or a judge; the declaration and termination of a state of emergency; the initiation of Bills other than Money Bills; and the annulment of statutory instruments. The Seanad has prior or exclusive powers in other areas, however.