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REPAIR WORKS TO Leinster House should not result in the Dáil rising early, Ceann Comhairle Seán O Fearghail has said.
Yesterday, Fine Gael TDs were told at their parliamentary meeting that the Dáil would rise on 7 July and would not sit again until around three months later.
A Fine Gael source said they were told it was to allow badly needed refurbishment works to be carried out in the Dáil chamber and Seanad. The source said the electronic voting system needs to be updated.
“There’s a lot of work to do,” they said.
Last night, Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin said he was “surprised” to hear about the plan as he had been informed the Dáil would sit until 18 July.
“I think it’s too early and it’s too long,” he said.
This morning, there were calls from the oppositions for clarity on the issue.
The Tánaiste said the date was a matter for the business committee, which oversees Dáil proceedings.
However, the Ceann Comhairle clarified that it is not a matter for the business committee, but a matter for the House.
The business committee may well and probably will make a recommendation.
Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald said if that was the case, then “why on Earth would her [the Tánaiste's] party be briefed on any date?”
Having stalled for ten weeks while there were negotiations and no small amount of sham battling between different parties, it would be absolutely unthinkable that the House would rise on 7 July and not return until the end of September.If works need to be done in the Chamber, alternative accommodation should be sourced.
She suggested the Round Room in the Mansion House would be the most appropriate venue for the Dáil to meet.
Business committee or no business committee, we cannot have a situation where we are barely in and just about off to a spluttering staff with Dáil business and then we go into recess again. There are too many serious issues to be dealt with to allow that to happen.
The Ceann Comhairle said no decision on a date had been decided.
For the information of the House, no decision whatsoever has been made in respect of when the Dáil will rise. That is a matter for the House to decide and it is my understanding that while there is important work to be undertaken, such work would not require the House to raise on 7 July.
Yesterday the Government Chief Whip, Regina Doherty tweeted about the matter:
Sources say that if the Dáil does rise early, it will not impact on committees which will work on through July and early September.
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If anything they should be taking their holidays later.
Unfuc*king believable.
Let’s be honest..if they had to change the barrels in the Dail bar they’d use it as an excuse. A worthless lazy useless shower of wasters. If they were in the private sector, they’d have booted out on their arses long time ago.
They would never have got in, in the private sector!
My workplace underwent a recent renovation lasting one year in total. During that time I moved desk, worked in prefabs, had some non confidential meetings in hallways and canteens. My place of work didn’t close for a single minute, let alone 3 months, during this period. Why is the daily different?
They were able to hold vitally important meetings on forming a government in Trinity recently so what’s changed? Answer; nothing they still think we are a nation of idiots!
It just shows how disconnected these clowns are from reality that they think an acceptable solution to repairs is to take extended holidays.
Hope the hot air extractors in those buildings get a good overhaul and some new filters?
And would 158 key staff consider offering an unpaid month to State as a gesture of solidarity to a generous employer struggling with everyday bills, and facing yet another for luxurious refurbishments of their place of employment?
Perhaps SF could jump off the fence and run with this ball!
The Tanaiste and Minister of Justice is not fit for purpose. She is all over the place.
Discovered the huge reaction online to this leak and back tracking. Common to leak such and gauge reaction. Social media is the one thing they can’t control and boy do they not like that..
There’s usually so few of them present in the chamber for any discussion that they could meet in the porch of Leinster house and still have room, they should be ashamed to even mention holidays after dragging out forming a government for 70 days, why they’ve only put their bums on the seats and their off on holidays for three months, there should be no holidays this year what so ever with families living on the streets and the threat of 900 families having their homes taken by vulture funds and the health service in crisis and the endless challenges from gangland killings on our streets, but they want to go on holidays, incredible.
It’s lack of use is the problem … Any excuse to dodge doing what their being paid to do .. No doubt they will also want to claim holiday expenses during the proposed time off.. What a shower of wasters …
Fine Gael are trying their best to cling on to power for as long as they can.They would have a sitting in the Dail twice a year if they could.
The best refurbishment would be a government standing by its electoral promises and serving the citizens of our country rather than the banker’s and the wealthy elite
That’s a shame, I was hoping for a good break from them!
They are only just back so they shouldn’t be taking any!! Who else gets 3 months paid holidays!
Teachers?
No they not teachers complete their contracted hours in 9 months if their contracts specified 12 moths then they would work 12 months. I’m not a teacher but tired that they are the constant target of some. I would not teach no matter how much they offered me
With your ‘command of’ the English language the demand for your services might be a little limited
They should convene the Dáil in the Mansion House, pretend it’s a continuance of the 1916 Commemorations. Do they not see how the People might view the adjournment of the Dáil for such a long period as being anti-democratic?
What difference does it make whether they are there or not. The whole political system is farcical. We had close to 3 months with no government, now we have one, they are going to disappear for months. We have a hospital crisis, housing shortage, an under resourced garda force with gangland crime rampant to name but a few of the major issues and off they go. Absolutely farcical and still they will get pensioned off after a few years service. Nothing changes and Kenny might have put his name in the history book as being the first serving taoiseach in two successive governments for his party but he is a feeble leader that has shown nothing of merit as the so called leader of the country. Mighty way to commemorate the 1916 rising.
Wise up people…its a big made-up issue that one of FF or FG will then vote down in a PR excercise to try make them look like they care and want to tackle the many crisis in society asap!!
We the Irish people should protest at government buildings. These overpaid clowns need locking up!.
The problem is these incompetent fools were voted in by the people.. and realistically as sad as it is. Not enough people care to go out and do something so it falls on deaf ears!
Him much are the renovation s going to cost US the taxpayers ?
Are you having a stroke?
Well if they cant sort out there accommodation, what chance do homeless have
Why was this essential work not carried out while we sat idly by waiting for a government
How could it have been predicted that it would take that long? Should they have hired Mystic Meg?
So there’s nowhere else they can sit around and bicker like children?
The gov is employed doesn’t mean they work, They just get paid for acting like children where 1 has gotten a bigger packet of sweets than the other. It’s a joke.
For the amount of them that turn up , may I suggest they can hold it in a telephone box
Maybe they could be put up in a cheep hotel room like what is done with some of the families that are been made homeless around ireland? For all that turned up they could fit comfortably in a hotel room. Oh that’s right, they wouldn’t have access to the dail bar with its tax free drink….nothing would get done!
I always thought Grattan’s Parliament would be a real parliament.
Instead of wasting money on a few computers as an excuse to close for 3 months, why don’t they refurbish the old Bank of Ireland building, bang in the Centre, right beside the Central Bank.
Leinster House is too toxic and too corrupt in all its anti-democratic dealings, procedures and counter-procedures, and abused bars. It should be gotten rid of asap.
The country’s first parliament is far more symbolic and it would be far more accessible to the public.
They could have done it while they played a very long game supposedly trying to form a government !
They should SIT on the toilet and flush themselves down.
why not have a roving parliament while the renovations are being done – coupla weeks each in cork, galway, limerick, sligo and so on .
I want to be a td….soooo attractive hey
It’s an absolute disgrace how this Government is behaving it’s like they are immune to all the problems
There’s work to be done in the Dáil, so the TDs bail out. Par for the course! What a bunch of dossers and tossers!
This exposes the warped priorities of our legislators & the civil service. No private sector management would even consider a closedown, never mind for weeks. What about the NCH?
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