THE Dail will have to go through some traditional ritual procedures as well as the election of a Ceann Comhairle, today before electing the next Taoiseach.
When the Dail meets at 3 p.m. the clerk of the Dail, Mr Kieran Coughlan, will read out, constituency by constituency, the names of those elected to the 28th Dail. He will then take nominations for the position of Ceann Comhairle.
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, is entitled to make the first nomination, followed by the leader of the Opposition, Mr Ahern. Short statements will be made by those nominating candidates for the post. In the event of there being more than one candidate, they will be voted upon in order of their nomination.
The successful candidate will then take the chair.
The new Ceann Comhairle will ask for nominations for the position of Taoiseach. Traditionally, according to the Leinster House public relations office, the party of the outgoing Taoiseach makes the first nomination, so Mr Bruton will be nominated first, followed by Mr Ahern.
Speeches will be made in favour of each, then Mr Bruton's nomination will be voted on. Presuming he is defeated, the Dail will then vote on the nomination of Mr Ahern.
In the unlikely event of nobody being elected Taoiseach today, the Dail would most likely adjourn by agreement to allow those seeking the office more time to garner sufficient support.
If Mr Ahern is elected, as expected, the Dail will be adjourned and he will go to Aras an Uachtarain to receive his seal of office from the President. This adjournment is not likely until 5 p.m.
The Dail is expected to resume at 7 p.m., when the new Taoiseach will announce the composition of his Cabinet.
There will then be a debate, ostensibly on the composition of the Cabinet which will allow the political parties and Independents to set out their stances for the new Dail.
A vote to approve the new Cabinet will take place later tonight, following which the Dail will adjourn and she new ministers will travel to Aras an Uachtarain to receive their seals of office.
The date of the Dail's adjournment for the summer recess has not yet been set, nor have details of sittings between now and that date.