The chaotic scenes that marred the Dáil this week arose from a confluence of events that created the perfect political storm. An inexperienced Ceann Comhairle, a move by Government-supporting Independents that was too clever by half, and a brazen effort by the Sinn Féin-led Opposition to wreck proceedings.
The outcome was that the Dáil failed to elect a new taoiseach as planned. It was an outcome described by Micheál Martin as “the subversion of the Irish Constitution” and he laid the blame firmly at the door of Sinn Féin, whose TDs engaged in raucous and disruptive behaviour throughout the day.
The Opposition parties did have legitimate concerns about the attempt by the Regional Independents to straddle the Government and Opposition benches. However, the response was so utterly disproportionate that it gave credence to the charge that it was a co-ordinated campaign to subvert the election of a new taoiseach and Government.
The day’s events were a nightmare for the new Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy and raised questions about the outgoing government’s wisdom in backing such an inexperienced politician, with just one Dáil term under her belt, for the position in the first place.
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After her election as an Independent in 2020, Murphy showed herself to be a formidable operator who was not afraid to engage in robust exchanges. Part of the reason the Government parties decided to back her was to ensure that she would not become a thorn in their side.
There was an assumption that she would be tough enough to maintain order as Ceann Comhairle. The job requires experience and subtlety as well as firmness, and Murphy was simply out of her depth when the storm broke. “It wouldn’t have happened like that if Seán Ó Fearghaíl or Seán Barrett were in the chair,” suggested one experienced observer on the Government side.
The Government itself must take a share of responsibility for agreeing to allow the Regional Independents to have their cake and eat it, keeping one foot in the Opposition benches for the sake of speaking rights, while being part of the Coalition for the purposes of ministerial positions.
Sinn Féin TDs may feel they pulled off a political coup by preventing the election of the Taoiseach for a day. But they should be aware that for some of the electorate they may only have confirmed their reputation as a divisive force
There was already some ambiguity about the status of Government and Opposition. For instance, between 2016 and 2020 Fianna Fáil formally supported the Fine Gael-led minority administration with a confidence and supply arrangement, while retaining the position as the main Opposition party. Back in 1987, Fine Gael backed the Fianna Fáil Government in the Tallaght strategy, while notionally the main Opposition party. The difference in both cases was that the Opposition parties supporting the Government of the day were not given ministerial portfolios.
The manoeuvre attempted by the Regional Independents, and indulged by the Government, of having their ministers sitting on the Government benches while their backbenchers sat with the Opposition was certainly a step too far. Government backbenchers have a legitimate complaint that they do not get the same opportunities to speak as the Opposition, but the solution to that is to change the system for everybody and not just one group.
While the Opposition parties certainly had legitimate grounds for complaint, the storm of abuse and invective that erupted on Wednesday, derailing the business of electing a taoiseach and Government, was unprecedented. The tone was set from the start by Matt Carthy of Sinn Féin who, in typically aggressive fashion, interrupted to make a point of order and was backed by party colleagues.
[ Q&A: How did a row about speaking rights derail the election of a taoiseach?Opens in new window ]
TDs from other Opposition parties joined the fray, shouting and roaring over each other and making the Ceann Comhairle’s job impossible. As one adjournment followed another, it became clear that Murphy was simply not able to control the unruly mob and the day’s schedule had to be jettisoned. There was something deeply unsettling about all these aggressive politicians baying like a pack of hounds at a woman who was clearly struggling in her new role. The bullying spectacle will have done nothing for the reputation of politicians in general.
They all need to reflect on the day’s disaster. The Government parties would do well to ask themselves how they walked into a row that had been developing ominously for days. Whether through complacency or arrogance, they failed to deal with the underlying problem and left the Ceann Comhairle to face the music.
On the Opposition side, Sinn Féin TDs may feel they pulled off a political coup by preventing the election of the Taoiseach for a day. But they should be aware that for some of the electorate they may only have confirmed their reputation as a divisive and disruptive political force, rather than one that offers feasible solutions to the problems facing the country. The Labour Party and the Social Democrats also need to ask themselves whether they are willing to become bit players in a Sinn Féin-led disruptive Opposition rather than carving out their own identities as parties with a positive vision for the future. The bottom line is that nobody in the political world emerged untarnished from the unedifying spectacle which has got the 34th Dáil off to the worst possible start.
