The group of Independent TDs convened by Tipperary North TD Michael Lowry will not be allowed the privileges of Opposition TDs under a ruling from Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy on Monday evening.
The question of how the Regional Independents Group, which has signalled it would support the Government and was involved in government negotiation talks, would be treated for purposes of Dáil speaking time had caused rancour and a bitter political division.
Mr Lowry and fellow group members Barry Heneghan, Gillian Toole and Danny Healy-Rae had signalled their intention to sit as part of the Opposition, insisting that they be allowed access to prime Dáil speaking spots such as Leaders’ Questions.
However, in a decision issued late on Monday evening, Ms Murphy – who was a member of the group before her election to the role of Ceann Comhairle – said her role was to interpret and apply standing orders, the rules by which Dáil business is conducted. She said that following advice from senior counsel she was not satisfied the TDs were members in Opposition.
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“I therefore cannot accord recognition as a technical group to the Regional Technical Group as it is currently constituted,” she wrote. In her statement, she cited public comments and social media posts by the TDs, as well as the programme for government, as evidence of same.
She also wrote that a flurry of emails from the Lowry group sent last week, in which they asserted they were supporting the government on a case-by-case basis, did not carry enough weight to cancel out their previous public statements.
The ruling was welcomed by Opposition leaders, with Labour leader Ivana Bacik saying it was “very welcome” and Social Democrats acting leader Cian O’Callaghan saying it was significant and confirmed what Opposition parties had been saying.
Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald also welcomed the finding. “The Dáil should never have been put in this position. This could have been solved two weeks ago. It is a welcome climbdown. The Government parties need to act now and accept the Ceann Comhairle’s ruling,” she said.
Paul Murphy, the People Before Profit TD, also welcomed the ruling and warned that the Government should not try to change standing orders in light of it.
A senior Fine Gael source said the party welcomed the ruling “as this issue has dragged on for far too long”.
Mr Lowry and the TDs aligned with him did not respond to calls on Monday evening.
Fianna Fáil had commissioned legal advice which suggested the TDs could sit on Opposition benches, and an initial analysis by Ms Murphy also came to this conclusion – making her late-stage intervention, the evening before talks on the issue were due to reconvene with no clear resolution on offer, more dramatic still.
The ruling would seem to present a path to resolving the conflict and allowing the Dáil to proceed this week – although it was unclear how the Lowry group would react.
Behind the scenes, frustration had been growing among senior figures in the Government, with Ministers exasperated both with the Opposition – but also with Mr Lowry’s approach and the fact they had to go out to defend it. These frustrations were said to extend to Tánaiste Simon Harris.
Attention will also turn to whether there are any implications for Mr Lowry and his group’s support for the Government.
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