YESTERDAY’S Dail proceedings left many with more questions than answers following a slue of chaos.
From a TD appearing to give two fingers, to chants of “shame, shame, shame”, the speaking time row kicked off once again.
Chaos kicked off in the Dail when the Government forced a vote to change the rules in order to create a new “other members” slot.
This was to allow TDs who backed the Government more time to raise issues with both the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste.
The vote was won by 94 to 74 and reduced the Taoiseach’s Questions portion down from two to one per week.
It also cuts the time that TDs can raise issues during the daily Order of Business time.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Opposition parties, however, joined forces against the move to demand a clearer definition between both Opposition and Government benches.
They claim that Michael Lowry and three other independent TDs who are backing the coalition should be forced to take their speaking time from the Government slots.
Social Democrat TD Gary Gannon claimed that the new “Other Members” slot for Coalition backing TDs amounts to “the Government correcting its own homework” as they pretend to hold the Taoiseach to account in Dail questions.
The row over speaking time has kept Dail business frozen for weeks with no new laws passed or Committees set up.
The dispute led to the delay of Micheal Martin as Taoiseach earlier this year as Opposition TDs shouted down the Dail in protest.
SPEAKING ROW
Tensions have been bubbling for weeks in the Dail over speaking row rights, with the first Dail sitting suspended three times in February over failure to come to an agreement.
However it all came to a head on Tuesday as the Government attempted the vote to clarify the issue once and for all.
The vote sparked chaos within the Dail chamber, with opposition TDs refusing to take their seats and shouting erupting at Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy.
They roared over accusations of a “grubby deal” and claimed the Taoiseach was trying to “appease Michael Lowry.”
Once the vote passed, many TDs refused to move on from the topic and shouted down Martin as he took questions.
This led to the Ceann Comhairle eventually suspended the House with Government TDs leaving to a chorus of “shame, shame, shame” from the Opposition benches.
TWO FINGERS
Amid the dramatic scenes, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy began recording Michael Lowry on his phone.
In the clip, Deputy Lowry can be seen giving two fingers to the camera.
The controversial Tipperary TD was then seen approaching the Dail’s ushers where he appeared to complain about the use of the recording device.
He later told reporters that he was telling the People Before Profit TD to “sit down” with his two fingers.
HOW DID IT START?
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald earlier in the day accused the Taoiseach of turning the Dail inside out to placate Michael Lowry.
Also unhappy with the proceedings, Labour’s Ivana Bacik claimed the issue of cutting the Taoiseach’s questions session was to “give yourself Wednesday’s off”.
The Taoiseach hit back to claim the opposition were creating a row, saying it was “farcical”.
SURELY THERE IS A BETTER WAY
By Adam Higgins
MICHAEL Lowry laughed and waved to furious TDs as he played up to the role of the villain in the pantomime that was the Dail.
For the second time this year, our parliament was forced to close as Opposition TDs shouted down the House in embarrassing scenes that benefit no one.
Trump’s potentially devastating tariffs, the worsening housing crisis, the lack of special school places – and yet our Dail is torn down in a row over….speaking time.
I think the Opposition might be picking the wrong hill to die on here.
Essentially, this all centres on four TDs effectively led by Lowry who are backing the Coalition but also want speaking time to question the Taoiseach as if they were Opposition.
They are not in Opposition.
Lowry, Danny Healy Rae, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole are government TDs – regardless of what Taoiseach Micheal Martin says.
They negotiated the programme for Government. They have colleagues who are now ministers.
They boasted about being “inside Government.”
This charade of them pretending to be somehow in the Coalition but also independent of Government needs to stop.
Micheal Martin is trying to claim this is all about giving backbenchers in Fianna Fail and Fine Gael more speaking time – which simply doesn’t fly.
Why not call this new speaking slot “Government Members Questions” then instead of “Other Members?”
The Opposition are well within their rights to protest the Dail changes but is this really how they want to do it?
I don’t think anyone watching today’s chaos would look back and say they’re proud of our parliament.
Surely there is a way to protest that doesn’t block all Dail business and effectively leave the parliament frozen?
He claimed that “the election result never sunk in for some” as TDs taunted him.
The Fianna Fail leader said the changes to speaking time were being made to facilitate government back benchers in having more time to speak.
This transcended into chaos as opposition TDs began roaring and shouting over each other.
CEANN COMHAIRLE’S ACTION
The Ceann Comhairle was left repeatedly calling for respect as she attempted to diffuse the situation, but this led to louder chants.
She was forced to wait several minutes for TDs to calm down and return to their seats.
She eventually said: “You’re making a holy show of yourselves.”
This was met with an applause from the Government benches.
However, when the vote was called, many TDs didn’t hear the result due to the ongoing chaos.
As the Taoiseach tried to move on with the order of business, he was again shouted down by opposition TDs who were back on their feet.
This led the Ceann Comhairle to shut down all Dail proceedings for the day, as opposition parties chanted “shame”.
‘NEW LOW’
Opposition leaders plan to meet early today to plot their next move.
But the Taoiseach last night hit out at their actions, saying the scenes “marked a new low in the behaviour of the Opposition”.
Martin claimed the events were a “premeditated attempt to suppress the rights of others to speak”.
And he said they were “nothing less” than an attempt “to bully and intimidate the Ceann Comhairle”.
He added: “From day one, I believe many in Opposition were focused only on undermining the newly-elected Government.”
The Dail opened quietly this morning on a topical Issues slot, with David Maxwell of Fine Gael deputising in the chair for Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy.
The main Opposition benches are largely empty.
WHAT ARE SPEAKING RIGHTS?
The speaking rights within the Dail are currently a hot topic as Independents who have agreed to support the Government want to form a “technical group”.
This would allow them more speaking time and other rights compared to opposition parties – but remain as opposition to the Government.
Government parties are given 15 minutes speaking time, while opposition TD have only 10.
This would then allow a technical group to also have 15 minutes.
Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy made the call to allow Regional Independent TD’s to sit on opposition benches in order to allow them to have more speaking time in February.
An email was sent to the Dail’s business committee which addressed the issue, stating that the technical groups will not be recognised.
Among the group is Michael Lowry, Barry Heneghan, Mattie McGrath, Gillian Toole, Danny Healy-Rae and Carol Nolan.
TDs were also told that Murphy had been given legal advice from the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers last week.
Ceann Comhairle was met with chants[/caption]
