The 20th government of Ireland (10 March 1987 – 12 July 1989) was the government of Ireland formed after the 1987 general election to the 25th Dáil on 17 February 1987. It was a minority Fianna Fáil government which had the qualified support of Fine Gael, the main opposition party, an arrangement known as the Tallaght Strategy after a speech by its leader Alan Dukes. The national debt had doubled under the previous government. The government introduced budget cuts in all departments. The taxation system was also reformed. One of the major schemes put forward was the establishment of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin. During this period the Government organised the 1,000-year anniversary of the founding of Dublin.
It lasted from its appointment until the resignation of Haughey on 29 June 1989, and continued to carry out its duties for a further 13 days until the appointment of the successor government, giving a total of .
Nomination of Taoiseach
The 25th Dáil first met on 10 March 1987. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach, leader of Fine Gael and outgoing Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald, leader of Fianna Fáil Charles Haughey, and leader of the Progressive Democrats Desmond O'Malley were each proposed. FitzGerald was defeated with 51 votes in favour to 114 against, while there was an equal number of votes of 82 cast in favour and against Haughey. The proposal was carried on the casting vote of the Ceann Comhairle. Haughey was appointed as Taoiseach by president Patrick Hillery.
{| class="wikitable"
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| colspan="3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" align="center"|10 March 1987<br/>Nomination of Charles Haughey (FF) as Taoiseach<br/>Motion proposed by Brian Lenihan and seconded by Gerry Collins<br/>Absolute majority: 84/166
|- bgcolor="#D8D8D8"
! width=80px | Vote
! width=700px | Parties
! width=80px | Votes
|-
| Yes || Fianna Fáil (81), Independent Fianna Fáil (1) ||
|-
| No || Fine Gael (51), Progressive Democrats (14), Labour Party (12), Workers' Party (4), Democratic Socialist Party (1) ||
|-
| Not voting || Independent (1) ||
|-
|colspan=3|Ceann Comhairle Seán Treacy exercised his casting vote in favour of the nomination of Haughey.
|}
Government ministers
After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Haughey proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil. They were appointed by the president on the same day.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Office
!colspan="2"|Name
!Term
|-
|Taoiseach
|rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |
|rowspan=2|Charles Haughey
|rowspan=2|1987–1989
|-
|Minister for the Gaeltacht
|-
|Tánaiste
|rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |
|rowspan=2|Brian Lenihan
|rowspan=2|1987–1989
|-
|Minister for Foreign Affairs
|-
|Minister for Finance
|rowspan=2 style="background-color: " |
|rowspan=2|Ray MacSharry
|1987–1988
|-
|Minister for the Public Service
|style="background-color: " |
|Michael O'Kennedy
|1987–1989
|-
|Minister for Communications
|style="background-color: " |
|John Wilson
|Mar. 1987
|-
|Minister for Defence
|style="background-color: " |
|Michael J. Noonan
|1987–1989
|-
|Minister for Education
|style="background-color: " |
|Mary O'Rourke
|1987–1989
|-
|Minister for Energy
|style="background-color: " |
|Ray Burke
|1987–1988
|-
|Minister for the Environment
! style="background-color: " |
|Pádraig Flynn
|1987–1989
|-
|Minister for Health
|style="background-color: " |
|Rory O'Hanlon
|1987–1989
|-
|Minister for Industry and Commerce
|style="background-color: " |
|Albert Reynolds
|1987–1988
|-
|Minister for Justice
|style="background-color: " |
|Gerry Collins
|1987–1989
|-
|Minister for Labour
|style="background-color: " |
|Bertie Ahern
|1987–1989
|-
|Minister for the Marine