LAST UPDATE | 13 Feb

RUCTIONS KICKED OFF in the Dáil again yesterday, this time over something the Taoiseach was accused of saying in Irish. 

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald was so outraged by the matter she wrote to Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy last night to formally request that the Taoiseach correct the record. 

Her colleague, Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty accused the Taoiseach of taking advantage of the Ceann Comhairle’s lack of Irish and, indeed, “taking advantage of the Irish language” itself.

So if you weren’t glued to Oireachtas TV yesterday, here’s what you missed. 

Tell me this and tell me no more 

The incident took place during Leaders’ Questions, when Mary Lou McDonald was asking the Taoiseach about his comments over the weekend in relation to the possibility of removing Rent Pressure Zones. 

As is often the way, she initially began her remarks in Irish, before switching to English. 

The Taoiseach did likewise. 

They continued to go back and forth on the issue while speaking in English, but just as McDonald’s speaking slot was coming to an end she told the Ceann Comhairle that she wanted to raise a point of order – she said the Taoiseach had called her a liar in Irish.

“The Taoiseach took advantage perhaps of you not following. He called me a liar,” McDonald said.

Mary Lou McDonald The Journal The Journal

The Ceann Comhairle told the Sinn Féin leader she “did not hear those words” and asked the Taoiseach to withdraw what he said “if he made those remarks”.

“Did you call Deputy McDonald a liar?” she asked.

At one point, the Ceann Comhairle was handed a piece of paper with a note on it from the clerk of the Dáil.

The Journal The Journal

The Taoiseach shook his head and said: “Is féidir liom é seo a shoiléiriú má tá deacracht ag na Teachtaí Dála.” [I can clarify if the TDs have difficulty].

“Níl aon deacracht ann,” McDonald said in response. [There is no difficulty.]

The Ceann Comhairle then said: “I can’t rule on what I didn’t hear.”

“I accept that you believe it was said, the Taoiseach has said he hasn’t said it. We can look back,” she added.

There was significant pushback from the Sinn Féin benches in response to this, with TDs insisting he did say it.

She later asked: “I am asking again, Taoiseach, if you used the words, will you withdraw them?”

The Taoiseach began to respond: “Táim sásta -” [I am happy -]

Micheál Martin

There were again interruptions from the Sinn Féin benches. 

“Cé atá ag insint porkies anois?” Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked.  [Who is telling porkies now?]

The Taoiseach then said he did not call McDonald a liar, “I did say-,” he began, but did not have the opportunity to finish his sentence.

So what did he say?

What the Taoiseach said at the beginning of his remarks was:  

“Tá an Teachta Dála ag insint bréaga arís.”

This translates to: “The TD is telling lies again”. 

Why is this an issue?

Under the rules of the Dáil, TDs are restricted in what they can say about their fellow TDs.

Among the restrictions, TDs must not state that another member is guilty of “being deceitful”.

So while the Taoiseach may not have said verbatim that Mary Lou McDonald is a “liar”, he did accuse her of “telling lies”.

In her letter to the Ceann Comhairle last night, McDonald asked her to follow up formally with the Taoiseach to ensure he withdraws what was a “baseless claim”.

Responding to McDonald today, the Ceann Comhairle said she had reviewed the transcript and she would ask the Taoiseach to review his remarks.

Bilingual parliament

When Verona Murphy was voted in as Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil in December, Sinn Féin and others raised concern over the fact she is not a fluent Irish speaker.

They made the point that as Irish is one of the two official languages used in Dáil Éireann, the chair of the Dáil should speak the language proficiently. 

At the time, Murphy took these comments on board and on the day of her election said she hoped to improve her Irish. 

Double down

Whether the Taoiseach will withdraw his remarks remains to be seen, but at this point it looks unlikely.

A spokesperson for the Taoiseach doubled down on the remarks last night and argued that the calls for Martin to correct the record were a “distraction tactic” from Sinn Féin.