In Republics with a directly elected President, the decision to dissolve Parliament is mostly taken by the President, possibly after consultation with the Government and or the Parliament. To this principle there are a few exceptions. The directly elected President of Croatia may only dissolve Parliament, at the proposal of the Government and with the countersignature of the Prime Minister, after consultations with the representatives of the clubs of parliamentary parties. In Finland the President may dissolve Parliament in response to a reasoned proposal of the Prime Minister. In Ireland the directly elected President can only dissolve Parliament on the advice of the Prime Minister (Taoiseach). He is however free to refuse a request for dissolution if the Prime Minister has lost confidence of the majority of Parliament. In Serbia the directly elected President may dissolve the National Assembly, upon the elaborated proposal of the Government. In Lithuania the power of the directly elected president to dissolve parliament is counterbalanced by the fact that after dissolution the newly elected parliament may declare new elections for the office of President of the Republic.