CEANN Comhairle Verona Murphy has survived a motion of no confidence as the Government looks to put an end to the speaking time row that has dominated the Dail for months.
The Wexford TD became the first Ceann Comhairle in the history of the Oireachtas to face a no confidence motion as opposition parties teamed up to take her down in protest of her handling of last week’s Dail bust up.
The row centres over an attempt by Michael Lowry and three other Government backing TDs to seek similar Dail speaking rights to the opposition during Leaders Questions.
Verona Murphy pushed through a vote on this new speaking slot in the Dail last week despite attempts from Sinn Fein and other opposition TDs to shout down the House.
Opposition parties tabled a motion of confidence in her as they claimed she colluded with the Government to force through this vote.
She beat the no confidence motion tonight by 96 votes to 71 – with two abstentions – as Government parties rallied around the under-fire Ceann Comhairle.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin blasted the opposition’s shouting protests as he claimed they were trying to erode the Government’s majority by intimidating people.
He said: “Having given us scenes last week which had never before been recorded in 106 years of this democratic parliament, the opposition decided it would seek the Ceann Comháirle’s head.
“Having broken literally every single rule of this House. Having shouted down business. Having started to chant and abuse others.
“Having refused to even allow the democratically elected chairperson of this House to be heard, they are now claiming that it is she who should be censured.”
The Taoiseach claimed “the arsonists are demanding we censure the fire brigade.”
Leas Ceann Comhairle John McGuinness stepped in to chair the debate today which saw the Government and opposition clash on a series of exchanges.
Mary Lou McDonald said that the Ceann Comhairle’s position will remain untenable regardless of the result of today’s motion of no confidence.
The Sinn Fein leader read out a section of an interview that Deputy Lowry did with a Tipperary radio station in which he outlined how he secured Deputy Murphy’s election as Ceann Comhairle as part of negotiations to form a Government with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.
Mary Lou said: “Michael Lowry gives two fingers to the Irish people and we will not accept the Ceann Comhairle doing the same.
“The Ceann Comhairle is not fair, is not impartial, is not independent and can not stay. The Ceann Comhairle must go.”
The new “Other Members” speaking slot will be seen for the first time tomorrow as the Government’s new Dail rules come into effect.
The end of the speaking time row will result in the Government pushing ahead with the establishment of the Oireachtas Committees that could be up and running as soon as next week.
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As one of the celebrity guessers on ITV hit The Masked Singer, he’s used to hearing the chant “take it off.”
But Jonathan Ross is about to front a shocking new programme which is all about slapping handcuffs on innocent members of the public.
It’s a TV experiment being conducted by Channel 4 which will see people with opposing points of view literally chained together at the wrist.
Called Handcuffed, the bizarre show is due to start filming later this year with chat show king Rossy overseeing proceedings.
A TV insider said: “This is tapping into C4’s exploration of what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes, by forcing them to experience what they experience and all the things that might change someone’s views.
“It’s a similar concept to their recent TV experiment, Go Back To Where You Came From, where Brits with various points of view were challenged to take the perilous journey that many immigrants face to get into the country.
“Though C4 will be hoping this is a little more successful as the challenge show had poor ratings and there are no plans for a second series.”
The new show is being made by Freemantle and 72 Films, who have already posted an advert for participants to come forward for the show.
They describe it as “a groundbreaking new series” with the promise of “a large cash prize” for the winners.
They don’t reveal they’ll be handcuffed but they do say that they will be required to “live closely together and explore their differences.”
It adds that they want: “People with strong differing views on a wide range of cultural, political and ideological beliefs tackling some of the most divisive issues currently being discussed in the UK.
“Are you ready to challenge someone’s views and see if they can understand yours?”
I wonder if Rossy realises what he’s letting himself in for . . . ?
Mark Gatiss and Tamara Lawrance will appear in the second series of BAFTA winning comedy Juice as it returns to BBC Three later this year.
Mawaan Rizwan plays young gay man Jamma on his quest for attention from his family, and Russell Tovey as his boyfriend Guy.
Jon Richardson is swapping the stage for the classroom as he joins the cast of Waterloo Road.
The comedian shocked fans earlier this week when he revealed he was stepping back from the comedy circuit for a teaching job.
Now, it’s confirmed he’ll be teaching at the fictional BBC One school.
It’s yet to be revealed who the 8 Out of 10 Cats star will play in the series.
Jon said: “I would say joining Waterloo Road is a dream come true, but in truth, most of my dreams about school revolve around not having done homework or put on my uniform.
“I wanted to be a teacher growing up, so hopefully this will put all those ambitions to bed.” Waterloo Road is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
As troubled Stuart Highway, actor Ricky Champ’s time on EastEnders saw him take on storylines involving mental health, male postnatal depression and breast cancer.
Now he’s a world away from Walford.
Soap fans have been left stunned to spot Ricky in Jason Statham’s new movie A Working Man, which has been a huge hit at the box office.
A source said: “Ricky’s new role is straight out a Hollywood blockbuster.
“He plays a henchman called Nestor and tackles a string of stunts and action scenes.
“The role is barely recognisable from Stuart, who locked a group of patients in a doctor’s office during a meltdown.”
Next up, a nice romcom.
Molly-Mae Hague has been keeping a low profile since reuniting with Tommy Fury.
But the behind-the-scenes of their relationship will soon hit screens once again as the latest offering of her Molly-Mae: Behind It All, docu, which is out on May 9, with all episodes available to stream on Prime Video.
Jimmy Doherty and Shivi Ramoutar are used to getting up close with animals on their ITV series Farmhouse Breakfast, as it is filmed on Jimmy’s family wildlife park.
But they might need to rethink their location after filming for the second series was hit by some monkey business.
Jimmy revealed: “We set up cameras around the monkey enclosure to film them foraging for food, but the monkeys made a beeline for the cameras.
“They were pushing all the buttons, biting the lenses – the cameras did get a bashing.”
The first series proved a success with guests including kids telly legends Dick and Dom, The Chase’s Jenny Ryan and comedian Danny Wallace.
The new series, which returns April 19, will include Strictly’s Vito Coppola, and Gladiators’ Nitro, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.