The 18th government of Ireland (9 March – 14 December 1982) was the government of Ireland formed after the February 1982 general election to the 23rd Dáil. It was a minority Fianna Fáil government led by Charles Haughey as Taoiseach, reliant on the support of the Sinn Féin The Workers' Party and independent TD Tony Gregory. It lasted for .
Nomination of Taoiseach
The 23rd Dáil first met on 9 March 1982. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil leader Charles Haughey, and Fine Gael leader and outgoing Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald were both proposed. The nomination of Haughey was carried with 86 in favour and 79 against. Haughey was appointed as Taoiseach by president Patrick Hillery.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| colspan="3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" align="center"|9 March 1982<br/>Nomination of Charles Haughey (FF) as Taoiseach<br/>Motion proposed by Brian Lenihan and seconded by Ray MacSharry<br/>Absolute majority: 84/166
|- bgcolor="#D8D8D8"
! width=80px|Vote
! width=605px|Parties
! width=80px|Votes
|-
| Yes || Fianna Fáil (81), Sinn Féin The Workers' Party (3), Independent Fianna Fáil (1), Independent (1) ||
|-
| No || Fine Gael (63), Labour Party (15), Independent (1) ||
|-
| Not voting || Ceann Comhairle (1) ||
|}
Government ministers
After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Charles Haughey proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Office
!colspan="2"|Name
!Term
|-
|Taoiseach
|style="background-color: " |
|Charles Haughey
|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Tánaiste
|rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |
|rowspan=2|Ray MacSharry
|rowspan=2|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for Finance
|-
|Minister for Agriculture
|style="background-color: " |
|Brian Lenihan
|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for Defence
|style="background-color: " |
|Paddy Power
|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for Education
|style="background-color: " |
|Martin O'Donoghue
|Mar.–Oct. 1982
|-
|Minister for the Environment
|style="background-color: " |
|Ray Burke
|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for Fisheries and Forestry
|style="background-color: " |
|Brendan Daly
|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for Foreign Affairs
|style="background-color: " |
|Gerry Collins
|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for the Gaeltacht
|style="background-color: " |
|Pádraig Flynn
|Mar.–Oct. 1982
|-
|Minister for Health
|rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |
|rowspan=2|Michael Woods
|rowspan=2|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for Social Welfare
|-
|Minister for Industry and Energy
|style="background-color: " |
|Albert Reynolds
|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for Justice
|style="background-color: " |
|Seán Doherty
|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for Labour
|rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |
|rowspan=2|Gene Fitzgerald
|rowspan=2|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for the Public Service
|-
|Minister for Posts and Telegraphs
|rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |
|rowspan=2|John Wilson
|rowspan=2|Mar.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for Transport
|-
|Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism
|style="background-color: " |
|Desmond O'Malley
|Mar.–Oct. 1982
|-
|colspan="4"|
Changes 7 October 1982
Desmond O'Malley and Martin O'Donoghue resigned on 6 October 1982 after<br />supporting an unsuccessful leadership challenge against Charles Haughey.
|-
!Office
!colspan="2"| Name
!Term
|-
|Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism
|style="background-color: " |
|Albert Reynolds
|7–27 Oct 1982
|-
|Minister for Education
|style="background-color: " |
|Charles Haughey
|7–27 Oct 1982
|-
|colspan="4"|
Changes 27 October 1982
Gallagher and Brady approved on a vote of 83 to 78.
|-
!Office
!colspan="2"| Name
!Term
|-
|Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism
|style="background-color: " |
|Pádraig Flynn
|Oct.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for Education
|style="background-color: " |
|Gerard Brady
|Oct.–Dec. 1982
|-
|Minister for the Gaeltacht
|style="background-color: " |
|Denis Gallagher
|Oct.–Dec. 1982
|}
Attorney General
On 9 March 1982, Patrick Connolly SC was appointed by the president as Attorney General on the nomination of the Taoiseach.<br/>Defence
|Government Chief Whip
|
|-
|Sylvester Barrett
|Finance
|Office of Public Works
|
|-
|Lorcan Allen
|Agriculture
|Land Commission, Production and Marketing
|
|-
|Bernard Cowen
|Agriculture
|Disadvantaged Areas
|
|-
|Terry Leyden
|Transport<br/>Posts and Telegraphs
|Telecommunications
|
|-
|Máire Geoghegan-Quinn
|Education
|Youth and Sport
|
|-
|Denis Gallagher
|Social Welfare
|Social Welfare Claims
|
|-
|Ger Connolly
|Environment
|Housing
|
|-
|Gerard Brady
|Environment
|Urban Renewal
|
|-
|Tom McEllistrim
|Fisheries and Forestry
|Forestry
|
|-
|colspan="5"|
Changes 28 October 1982
Following the appointment of Brady and Gallagher to cabinet.
On 4 November 1982, the Dáil voted on a motion of confidence the Taoiseach placed in the government. The motion was defeated, the Workers' Party voting against Haughey, and Tony Gregory abstaining.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| colspan="3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" align="center"|4 November 1982<br/>Confidence in the Government<br/>Motion proposed by Taoiseach Charles Haughey<br/>Absolute majority: 84/166
|- bgcolor="#D8D8D8"
! width=80px|Vote
! width=605px|Parties
! width=80px|Votes
|-
| Yes || Fianna Fáil (79), Independent Fianna Fáil (1) ||
|-
| No || Fine Gael (63), Labour Party (15), Workers' Party (3), Independent (1) ||
|-
| Absent or Not voting || Ceann Comhairle (1), Fianna Fáil (1), Independent (1) ||
|-
| Vacancy || 1 ||
|}
After the vote, Haughey sought a dissolution of the Dáil, which was granted by the president. A second general election of that year was held on 24 November 1982 for the 24th Dáil.