HEALTH WAS the big topic of discussion on the first week back. Micheál Martin got straight into it with his opening question of the new session.

The Fianna Fáil leader spoke of “a deep sense of despair across the health sector in hospitals and in community care across the country”. Indeed, said Micheál to the Taoiseach, Government members have been quoted all over the media complaining about the performance of the Minister for Health and, in particular, his recent announcements in relation to cuts in disability payments.

“They describe those cuts in that announcement as a catastrophe, regrettable, and one Labour Minister was accused of saying ‘he should have had the, the – I’ll translate – the liathróidí – to announce the cuts himself, instead of hiding behind one of his HSE lackeys”.

Was Micheál trying to make a political football out of the crisis? According to our impeccable Aran-geansaí source, flawless Irish speaker Micheál, in his attempt to clean up the language of those foul-mouthed Labour agitators, “liathróidí” refers to balls used in a sporting context. Apparently, the anatomically correct Irish word in this case is “magairlí”.

You learn something new every day . . .