The scene was set on Wednesday for a fractious and divisive five years of the 34th Dáil when Opposition parties, with Sinn Féin straining to demonstrate its leadership, blocked the election of Micheál Martin as taoiseach of the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Independent coalition.
The move was in protest at proposed speaking arrangements and the plan to adjourn the Dáil for two weeks.
The proposed speaking arrangements would have seen Michael Lowry and three other Independents, who have promised to support the government nonetheless, speaking during Opposition time through their membership of an opposition technical group.
Opposition parties had repeatedly signalled their disagreement in recent days, to little effect. On Wednesday morning, they took their protests to the floor of the Dáil, repeatedly causing it to be adjourned amid scenes of chaos and disorder. New Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy was clearly unable to establish order or command sufficient respect from Opposition TDs to quell the chamber. In all, the Dáil was adjourned amid uproar on four occasions.
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The Dáil is used to outbreaks of disorder, but this was a full-scale rebellion, and both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, as well as the floundering Ceann Comhairle, seemed at a loss what to do about it.
Chaos in Leinster House: how the day unfolded and what happens next
Just after 4.30pm, after the Ceann Comhairle had called for nominations for Taoiseach – the job for which the Dáil had assembled, after all – with the Opposition on its feet roaring its disagreement and Labour leader Ivana Bacik seemingly trying to lead a walkout of the chamber, proceedings were adjourned until Thursday morning. Simon Harris, in case you were wondering, remains Taoiseach.
Before the Dáil met at 11am, Fianna Fáil had been set for a big day – probably its biggest day at Leinster House since Bertie Ahern became taoiseach for the third and final time in 2007.
A large delegation had travelled from Cork to see favoured son Micheál Martin elected taoiseach for the second time (his first time in 2020 was in the midst of Covid restrictions). Martin’s family – close-knit, steadfast, fiercely loyal – jammed into the Distinguished Visitors’ Gallery. The day did not proceed to plan.
If the Opposition were performatively outraged in their attitude to the speaking arrangements and the long – though not by any measure unprecedented – recess for two weeks, the Government blundered into an avoidable calamity. This was not an ambush; the Opposition’s views had been well advertised and the prospect for disruption of the Dáil before Martin’s election had been floated in recent days. Everyone assumed there would be a few noisy protests and then the Dáil would get on with what is – after all – one of its most important duties.
The Government’s position – that Independents who are supporting the coalition should benefit from opposition speaking time – is clearly indefensible, whatever the precedents might say. But the Opposition’s reaction is entirely disproportionate. Preventing the election of a new taoiseach when there is a clear majority in the House for it is not just another parliamentary tactic; it’s a much more serious step than that.
It would be hard to fairly say that the issue in dispute – the allocation of a few minutes’ speaking time in the Chamber – is of sufficient importance to warrant the shouting down of parliament. But perhaps the real message of Wednesday’s shenanigans is that politics – in its Dáil cockpit at least – is entering a new and scratchier era. It sets a tone that is more partisan, more combative, more aggressive and less amenable to compromise and co-operation.
The alignment of the current Dáil – Fianna Fáil plus Fine Gael plus some Independents versus a largely left-wing Opposition, albeit of different stripes – lends itself to a stark divide of the sort not seen in the era of modern coalitions. Our politics is becoming more partisan.
On the Government side on Wednesday night, there was barely concealed fury; on the Opposition, resolve to continue with the same tactics on Thursday if necessary. After the giddy expectation of the morning, the atmosphere around Leinster House by nightfall was acrid with recrimination and rancour. Even assuming some compromise is found that enables the Dáil to get on with its business, Wednesday’s events will cast a long shadow.
There is one final point to note. The new Ceann Comhairle, Verona Murphy – herself installed in the position with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael votes in order to curry favour with the Independents – was unable to manage proceedings or broker compromises when relations broke down. She wielded little authority over the House and the Opposition paid her no respect. Putting people into positions as part of political deals is all very well, but it’s not cost-free.
The 34th Dáil looks set to be a rough ride for all concerned.
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