A front bench (Irish: binse tosaigh)[1][2] in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas of Ireland, refers to any organised group of party members who holds any degree of speaking power (derived from the party) on specific issues.
[3] The Teachtaí Dála (TDs) who are members of the Government of Ireland constitutes the "government front bench", while members of parties in declared opposition to the government constitute the "opposition front bench".
[4] By comparison, members of a governing or opposition party, who are not ministers or spokespersons, are typically said to the represent the "back benches".
[5] In order to attain the right to speak in session, parties and independents with fewer members can ally themselves into coalitions known as technical groups.
[6] Despite the frequent necessity for coalitions in front benches,[citation needed] each party retains its front bench spokespersons analogous (but not exclusively analogous) to government departments.