What does it mean when I read that the Irish gov't will "be dissolved" after this bailout?

He will make all of the elected officials stand for re-election. It amounts to a vote of no confidence in the elected officials of the government. [ I think! ]

It’s not as drastic as it sounds. In the parliamentary system, the “government” refers to the governing cabinet. If the Prime Minister dissolves the government, it just means that there will be a new cabinet.

It means he will tender the resignation of the government to the Irish president (the head of state and a mostly ceremonial role). The president can then either call on other parties to see if they can form a government or, more likely, call a general election in which all members of the Dáil Éireann (the principle chamber of the national parliament) are up for re-election. Whichever party has the most members after the election will then attempt to form a new government.

This is common and typical of parliamentary systems of government. It’s how they work. In Parliament, a party or a coalition of parties if one doesn’t have an absolute majority, controls the government, appoints one of their members (called ‘ministers’) as Prime Minister, and he forms a cabinet, etc.

When something happens to upset the party’s majority, such as local elections that indicate dissatisfaction with the party, or one or more of the coalition members decides that it does not favor a particular government policy, there is a “loss of confidence” in popular support of that government, and the PM dissolves parliament and calls for new elections.

In the British system, for example, elections are mandatory on ‘at least’ a certain cycle. (Five years, maybe? A Brit can help us out, I’m sure.) But if there’s a ‘loss of confidence’ upset then it is expected that the PM will call for new elections regardless of where they are in the ‘mandatory’ election cycle. The PM can also call for new elections if he thinks that he has such a commanding lead in the polls that his party will do very well, and he wants to reset the clock on the next ‘mandatory’ election.

Nothing is wrong in Ireland (except the things that are always wrong, and every place has some of those things). This is the Irish government in normal operation.

@CyanoticWasp The standard term in the UK is between four years and five years one month. The incumbent government are free to choose when they go to the polls in this timeframe.

Thanks, @meiosis. Isn’t it true that the PM can call for a snap election earlier than the four years, though?

Yes, but the head of state needn’t necessarily accept the request to dissolve parliament ( although in practise they would) and it could be likely to generate negative publicity about cutting and running.

I understand now!! Thank you for the enlightenment. :)