Main reads
- Miriam Lord: Michael Lowry gives masterclass in smug ingratitude amid Dáil chaos over speaking time
- ‘Shame, shame, shame’: How the Dáil descended into chaos
- Pat Leahy: Unruly Dáil scenes inevitable with Coalition and Opposition on collision course
That’s all for now on today’s live story, thanks for reading.
The Government has confirmed it will table a counter motion of confidence in Ms Murphy, Harry McGee reports.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin also accused the Opposition of employing “undemocratic” tactics in the Dáil.
In a statement on Wednesday evening he said: “It beggars belief that Sinn Fein in particular, who shouted and roared during Leaders Questions in a clearly organised manner, and who refused point blank to cooperate, are now accusing the Ceann Comhairle of bias and failing to follow procedures.
“The Clerk of the Dail has confirmed proceedings were conducted in accordance with procedures,” he said.
The report prepared by the clerk of the Dáil, Peter Finnegan, reads that Tuesday’s proceedings were “extraordinarily difficult for the Chair and indeed for all the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas Service who support the work of the Dáil chamber.”
“The operation of the Dáil is only possible if members accept the chair’s authority and rulings.
“Ultimately the Constitution provides that all decisions are made by a majority of the members present and voting. Notwithstanding the unprecedented level of dissent yesterday, once a matter is put to the House, the only remedy for those dissenting is through the voting process in the House,” it reads.
The report was prepared after the Opposition criticised the Ceann Comhairle for deeming the Order of Business - the Dáil schedule for the week – to be agreed without a vote on Tuesday.
Mr Finnegan said the Ceann Comhairle declared her opinion that the arrangements on the Order of Business were agreed, adding that it is a longstanding parliamentary requirement that members dissenting from the Ceann Comhairle’s declaration must say the word “Vótáil” to trigger a division.
“The official report of the debates and the clerk’s sheet (which is the basis for the Journal of Proceedings, the legal record of the Dáil) both confirm that the word ‘Vótáil’ was not audible in the Chamber when you put the question on the Order of Business. The declaration of the result by you was therefore fully in accordance with standing orders,” the report reads.
Verona Murphy has “categorically” rejected “unfounded allegations” of partiality and collusion, adding that she fully intends to continue as Ceann Comhairle.
Shortly after Opposition parties agreed the wording of a motion of no confidence in Ms Murphy on Wednesday evening, she said:
“I fully intend to continue to carry out the onerous office to which I was elected in accordance with the solemn undertakings I gave the Dáil upon my election.”
Ms Murphy called on every member to “reflect on and abide by their own constitutional obligations, to refrain from disorder, and to respect the rights and dignity of every other member and of the House itself.”
She said her office has endeavoured to find a compromise between the Government and Opposition concerning the speaking rights issue over the past two months “without success”.
She said prolonged disorder and obstruction is “utterly unacceptable in any democratic parliament.”
“So too is making false accusations of partiality and collusion against its officials and Chair. By virtue of the independence of the office of Ceann Comhairle, I am in the unenviable position that I cannot descend at will into debate to defend myself against the entirely false allegations of collusion made against me in the Dáil today.
“I categorically reject these totally unfounded allegations.
“I have at all times followed the correct procedures of the House and the advice of the impartial officials present. The Clerk of Dáil Éireann has independently prepared a report on yesterday’s proceedings detailing the procedures followed. It has been laid before the Dáil and accordingly is a public document,” she said.
This will mark the first time in the history of the State that a no confidence motion will be debated in relation to a serving Ceann Comhairle, Harry McGee writes.
In 2009, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore told then ceann comhairle John O’Donoghue that he would be tabling a motion of no confidence in him.
However Mr O’Donoghue resigned from the office before any debate commenced. The then Kerry TD had been embroiled in controversy over his expenses for air travel, limousines, and hotels when travelling abroad.
Earlier, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald told the Dáil that Ms Murphy should reflect on her position. She said, if necessary, her party would move a motion of no confidence in the Ceann Comhairle.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin signalled to her that any motion will be resisted.
If there is a motion and the Ceann Comhairle decides to oppose it, the motion will almost certainly be defeated as the Government parties and groupings will support her.
The difficulty for Ms Murphy will be more one of standing and authority.
With all of the Opposition opposed to her remaining in office, that will make her position very difficult. However, if she steps down that will also create animus as the Government parties will see it as a naked move to try and undermine the Government’s majority.
The issue dominated Leaders’ Questions in Dáil Éireann on Wednesday. Ms McDonald, in a post on X, said the Ceann Comhairle needed to go. “Yesterday, she assisted the Government in running roughshod over the democracy of the Dáil. She has shown that she is not impartial or independent. Her position is untenable. She must go.”
Labour leader Ivana Bacik also said her position was untenable.
“Regrettably, in our view the position of the Ceann Comhairle is no longer tenable due to the Government’s insistence on placating the Lowry group.
“The chairing of Dáil proceedings yesterday was not carried out in a fair and impartial manner,” she said in a post on X.
During exchanges in the Dáíl Taoiseach Micheál Martin accused the Opposition parties of feigned outrage over speaking rights. He accused Ms McDonald and Sinn Féin of promoting a destructive model of Opposition.
The Taoiseach claimed accused Sinn Féin TDs were conspiring to ensure he could not be heard on Tuesday. He singled out the party’s finance spokesman, Pearse Doherty, who he claimed had shown “naked aggression” towards the Ceann Comhairle.
“That precedent” could not be undone, claimed Mr Martin.
The combined Opposition parties have published the text of a motion of no confidence in Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy that will come before the Dáil on Tuesday, Harry McGee reports.
The wording of the motion states: “That the Ceann Comhairle no longer maintains the confidence of all members of Dáil Éireann.”
The wording was published on Thursday afternoon after it was agreed by the leaders of all Opposition parties and groups - totalling 75 TDs.
It will be tabled by Sinn Féin as its private member motion on Tuesday. It is expected that all other business of the Dáil will be set aside for the debate and vote on Ms Murphy.
The sponsors of the motion included Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, Labour’s Ivana Bacik, Cian O’Callaghan of the Social Democrats, Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit, and Michael Collins of Independent Ireland.
There was regular communication by email between all the Opposition leaders during the course of Thursday afternoon as they worked on agreeing the wording.
Opposition parties have been engaged in a back-and-forth on the wording of a motion, Jack Horgan-Jones writes.
It’s understood that the final text - which, if it comes to a vote, will likely be amended by the Government - is brief and straightforward, calling on the Dáil to vote that the Ceann Comhairle no longer maintains the confidence of all members of the house.
It’s not quite clear how or whether this will be published today. There was a suggestion that Opposition parties might hold another press conference on the Leinster House plinth but that appears to be less likely at this stage.
There have been whispers all afternoon that a motion of no confidence in Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy is being drafted and may be communicated to her office today, Harry McGee reports.
It looked for a while there may be another doorstep interview with Opposition leaders but any likelihood of that has been scuppered.
If there is a motion and the Ceann Comhairle decides to oppose it, the motion will almost certainly be defeated as the Government parties and groupings will support her.
The difficulty for Ms Murphy will be more one of standing and authority.
With all of the Opposition opposed to her remaining in office, that will make her position very difficult. However, if she steps down that will also create animus as the Government parties will see it as a naked move to try and undermine the Government’s majority.
When the Ceann Comhairle called an end to questions on policy and legislation, Fine Gael backbencher Willie Aird complained that he had wanted to speak on Tuesday but could not, Marie O’Halloran reports.
“And once only have I been allowed to speak in this House, having been elected to represent Laois.”
He called on the Ceann Comhairle “to make it good for those of us who were to ask questions”, adding that “I’m the same as everyone else elected”.
Sinn Féin’s Mark Ward said “chat to your party whip, for f***’s sake”.
The Ceann Comhairle responded “language”, as she called on Mr Aird to send her correspondence.
Independent TD Catherine Connolly claimed the Taoiseach has “put the Ceann Comhairle in a most invidious position” because of the manner in which he had made changes to Dáil speaking times.
She said the changes Micheál Martin was making “in the guise” of giving more time were “unacceptable”.
She said Mr Martin had halved Taoiseach’s Questions and “you’re no longer accountable on the second day of the week”.
She added that he had reduced the time for the Order of Business by 50 per cent and had taken away 22 minutes of private member’s time to give to the groups.
“So on every level you have misused the opportunity to deal in an agreeable way with us in a serious way,” she said.
She added that he had “twisted language on its head and put the Ceann Comhairle in a most invidious position”.
But the Taoiseach rejected her assertions and said he was keeping the 30 minutes Order of Business “for deputies”, not to have it as a second Leaders’ Question, which had become the practice by certain deputies.
He said it was “much better now for backbenchers from all sides”, adding “please don’t misrepresent me”.
In the Dáil, parliamentary correspondent Marie O’Halloran reports:
Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy has told Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty she will send him the official record of the Dáil regarding Tuesday’s Order of Business after he raised concerns about the validity of legislation to be debated this week.
Mr Doherty said he was concerned that legislation such as the Údarás na Gaeltachta Bill, to be debated on Wednesday afternoon, may not be valid because it was unclear whether the Order of Business had actually been passed.
He asked Ms Murphy for a determination “maybe on the basis of legal advice as well” because he had reviewed the audio of the debate and said there was a call for a vote.
The Donegal TD said: “I question now whether you have failed to fulfil your independent and partial duty to allow that division to take place.”
Ms Murphy said she would send him the official record of the Dáil.
Mr Doherty asked: “Are you looking at the transcript which is an abridged version” and did not include everything.
Ms Murphy asked the Clerk of the Dáil and then told Mr Doherty “I will send you what is regarded as the official record”.
When he asked if she would seek legal advice on the issue, the Ceann Comhairle said she would send him the official record and would review it.
Vivienne Clarke reports:
Sinn Féin’s chief whip Pádraig MacLochlainn has said that he hopes the Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy “reflects” on her position. He said that if she doesn’t step aside the Opposition will “regretfully” move a motion of no confidence.
Mr MacLochlainn told RTÉ radio’s News at One that it was “Micheál Martin and his deal with Michael Lowry” that led to the current situation which was “a first in a hundred years of democracy” with the suggestion that “Government TDs can pose as opposition, can ask Leaders’ Questions, can ask priority questions to Ministers.
“That’s an absolute stroke, a sham.
“This is nonsense. This is about creating space for Michael Lowry to back the Government wholeheartedly and his colleagues and to pose questions at Leaders’ Questions. He was determined to get that, independent legal advice says it shouldn’t be done. But the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Government have just ignored that and ploughed on and bulldozed their way through yesterday.”
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy is back, raising the speaking rights issue in the Dáil, Marie O’Halloran reports.
Mr Murphy said that “if you think Michael Lowry is asking Leaders’ Questions next week, you have another think coming.”
The Taoiseach said “it’s no surprise to me” that Mr Murphy was making threats “because that’s what you do”.
Independent TD Paul Gogarty said the way the Ceann Comhairle was treated was “semi-feral” and was wrong but he asked the Taoiseach to reconsider what he was doing.
He said if Mr Martin was giving time for the Lowry group to ask Leaders’ Questions, he called on him to have the Dáil sit at 9am on Tuesdays to make up the time. The Dáil normally commences at 2pm on a Tuesday.
The Taoiseach said that he was in favour of Friday sittings and he had no problem at all with extra time being allotted.
Independent TD Michael Lowry has just issued a statement regarding the “gesture” he made in the Dáil on Tuesday.
“The gesture I made in the Dáil yesterday was not made with malicious intent,” he said. “I made an errant gesture under provocation. Unfortunately, the gesture has been taken out of context.
“Unlike others, I have always respected the rules and values of the Dáil. My gesture was not intended to be offensive or to cause any offence, and I regret that it may have been seen in such a way.”
Labour leader Ivana Bacik has moved from the row over speaking rights to the issue of tariffs.
She asked what the Government is doing to prepare contingency plans and if they could brief the Opposition.
The Dáil is now moved on from Leaders’ Questions to the Order of Business, parliamentary correspondent Marie O’Halloran reports.
Ms McDonald said there is an obligation to form Government and that is what the Taoiseach had done.
“But you get to form the Government. You do not get to form the Opposition,” she said.
Ms McDonald said the Taoiseach had co-ordinated the appointment of the Ceann Comhairle and now he was changing Leaders’ Questions so that it would be a “faux Opposition”.
Mr Martin said Ms McDonald and her party showed a complete lack of respect for the Ceann Comhairle. They had set a precedent where “you successfully shout down and barrack” the Ceann Comhairle and that was a precedent that could not be undone.
Marie O’Halloran reports: Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said comments had been made about the “unpleasantness” yesterday and comments of misogyny which she described as cynical “coming from one of the most male-dominated governments” in the world.
Ms Coppinger said this is a Government removing itself more and more from accountability and that today and next Wednesday “we will have Michael Lowry questioning you”.
She said Mr Lowry gave two fingers and then gaslit the public that he hadn’t actually done it.
Mr Martin repeated that the Opposition’s approach was “feigned outrage”. He said “I’m not dying in any ditch” for Mr Lowry.
The precedents being set by the Opposition will be very hard to overturn in the future Dáil, he said.
The Taoiseach also accused Sinn Féin TDs of conspiring to ensure he could not be heard yesterday. He accused Pearse Doherty of “naked aggression” yesterday towards the Ceann Comhairle “and that precedent” could not be undone.
Ms Coppinger said “we’ve heard of the lonely plight of backbenchers”. She said “my heart bleeds” when the reality was that backbenchers had access to Ministers and to briefings that opposition TDs were not invited to.
Marie O’Halloran reports: The Taoiseach has reiterated that it was only eight minutes for the Independents and Government backbenchers to speak and they only got to speak about once a year.
Mr Martin told Mr O’Callaghan that “you trot out the line” laced with “dark stuff” and innuendo in reference to a deal “and that is smear stuff”.
The Taoiseach insisted that “my motivation is stable Government”. There is an “effort from day one to undermine this Government”.
Mr O’Callaghan then asked if the Taoiseach really thought it was “credible” that there was no deal when Mr Lowry was saying from day one that “this is what he was going to get”.
Mr Martin insisted there was line-by-line discussion as part of programme-for-Government discussions but “you will just throw out the smear”.
Social Democrats acting leader Cian O’Callaghan also said there was a “muddying of the waters” by attempting to show the Independents as Opposition.
Mr O’Callaghan said the Government is only a few months old but its record is already one of failure.
He has called on Mr Martin to “come clean” on what deal he had done with Independent TD Michael Lowry.
Social Democrats acting leader Cian O’Callaghan also called on the Ceann Comhairle to “reflect on her position”. He said Ms Murphy should represent all parties but that did not happen.
Ms Bacik said the Taoiseach was not only becoming increasingly tetchy but increasingly “patronising”.
She said it was “deeply wrong” and “deeply disrespectful” of Michael Lowry to give the two fingers and said Mr Martin should get him to apologise. But she said the mess was a “farce of your making”.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik has said two fingers have been shown to the Opposition and to the people of the country.
Ms Bacik said that she and her parliamentary party members agreed the Ceann Comhairle should reflect on her position and if not, they will have no option but to maintain a position of no confidence in her.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has now repeated that Verona Murphy should reflect on her position and if necessary her party will move a motion of no confidence in the Ceann Comhairle.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has signalled that any motion will be resisted.
In response, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Ms McDonald and Sinn Féin were promoting a destructive model of Opposition.
Mr Martin said anybody who uses two fingers in the House to another TD was wrong and that Michael Lowry should apologise.
He also said it was wrong for TDs to be waving cameras in the face of other deputies.
Sinn Féin leader Mary McDonald has said Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy has lost the confidence of the entire Opposition in the Dáil on Wednesday.
She told Ms Murphy that her position was untenable and “you need to go”.
Leaders’ Questions has just got under way, with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald stating that yesterday represented an unprecedented sabotaging of the democracy of the Dáil.
She said the mess was entirely of the Government’s making. Ms McDonald said the Government has moved heaven and Earth to allow Michael Lowry and his group of TDs both in Government and Opposition at the same time.
Elsewhere, Vivienne Clare reports: Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has said he would be “cautious” about calling a motion of no confidence in Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show, Mr Toibín said although Ms Murphy made mistakes yesterday, “there isn’t anybody who would have been able to sit in that chair and have grown adults roaring at the top of their voices non-stop for well over an hour and to be able to manage that situation.
“In any football club, any workplace, any family and in the country, that type of behaviour would not have been tolerated.”
Things are rapidly building towards a moment of reckoning for Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy, political correspondent Jack Horgan-Jones reports.
With all Opposition leaders now seen as likely to express no confidence in her at Leaders’ Questions at noon today, it seems that she will face a clear choice: does she go or face down the Opposition, meaning a motion of confidence next week would seem inevitable.
If she stays, she will probably win any vote ultimately, but it could be a pyrrhic victory as her authority would be massively undermined.
Leinster House is now entering a rolling boil as things build towards Leaders’ Questions.
Opposition backbenchers have been told that the main outcome from the meeting this morning is that at Leaders’ Questions at midday, each party will express a loss of confidence in the Ceann Comhairle.
Senior Opposition sources said that it is “almost a racing certainty” that a motion of no confidence will be put down next week, Jack Horgan-Jones reports.
The reason for the delay is that such a motion would have to be put down in Opposition time, with Sinn Féin having the time to do so next week.
It invites a pressure-cooker atmosphere for both Murphy and the Government in the days ahead – unless she bows to pressure today and goes.
It is unclear if there will be further disruption at Leaders’ Questions at noon, but some Opposition sources were downplaying the possibility, saying it might be the case that it proceeds as normal today.
Meanwhile, Vivienne Clarke reports that Government Chief Whip and Fianna Fáil TD Mary Butler has described the Opposition as “permanently outraged”.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Claire Byrne show, Ms Butler said that she was not surprised at what had happened in the Dáil chamber on Tuesday as she had been “verbally warned” about what would happen at a business committee meeting last Thursday by Sinn Féin whip Pádraic Mac Lochlainn and Independent Ireland’s Michael Collins.
Ms Butler said unfortunately the Opposition don’t want to accept the democratic mandate of all members, especially those on the Government side.
“The reality is, in my opinion, that the Opposition really can’t accept that the Government have a majority, won the election and has a job to do to govern,” she said.
The Waterford TD also said she believed the gesture made by Michael Lowry in the chamber was “inappropriate”.
“But the behaviour in general across the Opposition yesterday was completely inappropriate and I know Michael Lowry was accused of putting up two fingers, but to be honest the Opposition gave the Ceann Comhairle the two fingers yesterday too,” she added.
The Opposition leaders meeting has just finished. They are likely to tell Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy they have no confidence in her, political editor Pat Leahy reports. There is no formal motion yet it seems – but statements are expected later.
Opposition leaders are meeting this morning but in the meantime, a senior source in one Opposition party said it is their assessment that a motion of no confidence in Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy is very likely, Jack Horgan-Jones reports.
Outlining a list of grievances with how Ms Murphy conducted the Dáil business yesterday, this person said of the motion: “That’s the direction we’re heading in,” adding that they would be “very surprised if we didn’t get a motion of no confidence.”
The Opposition is critical of Ms Murphy on several fronts, specifically:
That the Order of Business – the Dáil schedule for the week – was deemed to be agreed without a vote. There is almost always a vote, which is largely procedural because it the Government wins it, but allows the Opposition more time to speak critically of the Government.
That Questions on Promised Legislation (QPL) were scrapped – this slot follows Leaders’ Questions and yesterday was occupying the space between Leaders’ Questions and the vote on the motion reforming standing orders in line with the Government’s proposal on speaking rights.
The Ceann Comhairle is within her rights to scrap QPL, but the Opposition view is that the effect of this was to bring things quickly to a head.
That the Opposition amendment to the Government motion was not taken. Amid the chaos in the Dáil yesterday, the Opposition were furious that this didn’t happen.
They are also annoyed that Ms Murphy decided to adjourn the Dáil for the day immediately following the vote on the Government motion.
So what happens next?
The only situation analogous to current events was the resignation of former Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue in 2009 after a controversy about expenses. He went before he was pushed – when Labour indicated it had lost confidence in him.
The Ceann Comhairle is appointed by majority vote of the House, but it is generally accepted that they must enjoy the support of the Government and Opposition to retain the credibility of an independent officeholder.
If Murphy acts as O’Donoghue did and resigns in the face of an oncoming no confidence motion, it will a big development, and will lead to a massive debate about events leading up to it.
However, there are those both in Government and Opposition who believe that she may fight her corner. If it goes to a vote, the Government will be expected to back her and vote the motion down.
But that invites the unprecedented scenario of the speaker of the House trying to run the business of the House without the confidence of a really meaningful minority.
In the Dáil, Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon began his topical issue with reference to the row by saying the Government was attempting to restrict “my ability to come in and speak for my constituency”.
He highlighted the lack of funding for primary schools in Dublin’s inner city, Marie O’Halloran reports.
He said the schools including St Lawrence O’Toole and Rutland Street primary school in the heart of the inner city and dealing with very complex needs but are worried about “simply keeping the lights on”.
Clare Sinn Féin TD Donna McGettigan highlighted the issue of stalking of female students on university campuses.
She said there were “shocking stories of young, female students being attacked, abused, followed and harassed”.
Young women did not feel safe on the street, in college or even online. They face “catcalling, stalking, spiking and, in the worst cases, assault”.
Her party colleague Galway West TD Mairéad Farrell highlighted the case of one woman living on a university campus who was targeted by a WhatsApp group of 200 young men.
Their abuse included mass chanting outside her college accommodation and yoghurt being left on her door handles.
Minister for Further Education James Lawless said that what was taking place was “abhorrent, unacceptable and shameful”. The Minister who had steered Coco’s Law through the Oireachtas said he would act on the issue.
It’s business as usual in the Dáil chamber at the moment. Fine Gael Cavan-Monaghan TD David Maxwell is in the chair with five TDs present, reports parliamentary correspondent Marie O’Halloran.
The row over speaking rights is not expected to ramp up again until Leaders’ Questions at .
The House is currently dealing with topical issues, matters of the day of interest to deputies are raised where individual Ministers, predominantly Ministers of State, respond.
It is normal practice that the Ceann Comhairle does not chair the topical issues session and a number of backbench TDs from all parties stand in for Verona Murphy and Leas-Cheann Comhairle John McGuinness.
Five TDs are present, the minimum number required for a quorum. Normally only the TDs asking and the Minister responding are present, but because Opposition TDs started calling for a quorum, which delayed proceedings, the Government has drafted in backbenchers to be present to ensure no disruption.
In case you missed it, Miriam Lord’s piece on how Michael Lowry gave a masterclass in smug ingratitude amid Dáil chaos over speaking time can be read here.
Opposition leaders are meeting this morning to decide on a no-confidence motion in Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy but there is a general expectation around Leinster House that a motion will be put down, according to political editor Pat Leahy.
However, there is also a feeling on the Government side at least that it should be fought.
After all the Government has the numbers to win a vote. Previously it would have been generally accepted that if the Ceann Comhairle lost the confidence of the Opposition, he or she would have to resign.
But now there is a sense that the rules of engagement have changed – yesterday’s scenes in the chamber were unprecedented, and some Government sources now say that it is clear the old conventions don’t apply any more – and that works two ways.
Minister for Transport, Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O’Brien has described the disruption in the Dáil on Tuesday as “despicable”.
“I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been in the Dáil since 2007. Whether people disagree with a stance or a change in standing orders, which happens regularly, every Dáil would have reform, would have changes to structures. But the behaviour yesterday was just absolutely totally and utterly outrageous,” he told Newstalk Breakfast on Wednesday.
“Some of the comments that were shouted across the chamber, from the Opposition I might add, all from the Opposition and particularly from Sinn Féin and it was co-ordinated and it was planned.”
The Fianna Fáil TD said “unquestionably” the Opposition “had planned this, that they would try to bring about maximum disruption to the business of the House”.
“We have many very serious issues for our people to deal with,” he added. “We have changes in the geopolitical landscape. We’ve tariffs looming. We’ve got to protect our economy, our people, and our jobs. And what I saw yesterday, frankly, just as a citizen, if you leave it aside as being a TD or a Minister, I was absolutely disgusted.”
Vivienne Clarke reports:
Minister of State and Independent TD Sean Canney has said “this is not about Michael Lowry, it’s about democracy” when questioned about the speaking rights row on RTÉ radio this morning.
When questioned about the two-finger gesture made by Mr Lowry, Mr Canney responded: “If I would be quite honest, the combined Opposition yesterday gave the two fingers to democracy. That’s what happened yesterday.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Mr Canney added: “This is not about two fingers. This is about the fact that we have people elected to the Dáil; we have a majority in the Dáil and what we need to do is get on with the business. It appeared that the Opposition did not know what they wanted.”
Speaking on RTÉ radio this morning, Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik said it was “a mess of the Government’s own making”, Vivienne Clarke reports.
Ms Bacik said that there was difficulty among the Opposition in maintaining confidence “in a Ceann Comhairle who moved to deem the Order of Business agreed when there had been no vote call despite clear articulations of dissent from Opposition”.
“That is unprecedented,” she said. Ms Bacik said the abiding image of yesterday was Michael Lowry giving two fingers to the Opposition, adding “certainly what it felt like yesterday in the chamber was that the Ceann Comhairle was steamrollering through business and that I think is a very difficult and it’s a very serious matter”.
“Certainly the Ceann Comhairle, under standing orders, is obliged to apply the rules and procedures in an impartial and fair manner so we do now I think have to take very seriously our concerns about yesterday,” she told Morning Ireland.
“I’ve looked back at the transcript already but again as I want to speak with others this morning. We’re conscious this is a big issue to look at, is confidence in the Ceann Comhairle, and we’ll certainly be taking every sounding on that before we come to a conclusion.”
The Dáil has resumed this morning, with Fine Gael TD raising a topical issue on Ryevale House in Co Kildare.
Mr Neville spoke of how it was good to see proceedings return to proper form after what happened yesterday.
There is a scattering of Government TDs in the chamber for topical issues, according to political editor Pat Leahy, with just one Opposition TD – Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats.
Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy is not in the chair, with Fine Gael’s David Maxwell overseeing business.
There is one image that is dominating the front pages today – that is of Independent TD Michael Lowry giving the two fingers to PBP TD Paul Murphy in the Dáil on Tuesday.
Mr Lowry said he was merely “beckoning” the Dublin South-West TD “to sit down”.
Opposition leaders will be meeting this morning to decide what their collective response will be in response to how Ceann Comhairle handled matters in the Dáil yesterday.
As Harry McGee and Pat Leahy reported this morning, they stopped short last night of tabling a motion of no confidence in Verona Murphy.
Dáil proceedings are due to get started shortly, with topical issues to begin at 9.12am.
The Dáil is set to resume shortly after 9am this morning after it was adjourned at 3.45pm yesterday amid chaotic scenes.
That came after Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy pushed through a controversial vote to allow new speaking slots for Government-supporting Independents, led by Tipperary North TD Michael Lowry.
It led to unprecedented scenes of prolonged shouting and anger, while Mr Lowry was accused of giving the two fingers to People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy. Mr Lowry has said he was merely “beckoning” the Dublin South-West TD “to sit down”.
Last night, Opposition leaders stopped short of tabling a motion of no confidence in the Ceann Comhairle but they are meeting this morning to discuss their next moves, including a possible motion.
