LAST UPDATE | 18 Feb

THE TAOISEACH HAS denied calling Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald a liar in the Dáil and refused to withdraw his comments, saying: “I cannot withdraw a remark I did not make.”

There were ructions during Leaders’ Questions last week, with Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy’s lack of Irish called into question after the Taoiseach accused McDonald of telling lies while speaking Irish.

“Tá an Teachta Dála ag insint bréaga arís,” the Taoiseach said in response to comments McDonald made criticising the Government’s housing policy. It translates to: “The TD is telling lies again”.

It is against the rules of the Dáil to accuse another member of being deceitful.  

McDonald asked for the Taoiseach to withdraw the remarks at the time but the Ceann Comhairle said she could not rule on what she didn’t hear. 

The Ceann Comhairle asked the Taoiseach if he called McDonald “a liar” and told him to withdraw the comment if he did. The Taoiseach said he did not call her a liar and he did not withdraw the remarks. 

In a letter to the Ceann Comhairle written yesterday and published today, Martin wrote: “I was accused by Mary Lou McDonald of using language that I did not use. Specifically, she claimed that I called her a liar, which I did not. As such, I cannot withdraw a remark I did not make.

“Furthermore, I wish to clarify the interpretation of the phrase ag insint bréag. The widely used Foclóir.ie, which serves as the most popular electronic version of the Ó Dónaill Irish-English Dictionary (1977) defines bréag as “a falsehood” or “untruth”,” he said.

“Accordingly, ag insint bréag translates to “telling a falsehood” or “telling an untruth”. In contrast, to directly call someone a “liar” in Irish, one would need to use terms such breagadoir, eitheoir, or scaitseálai.” 

Addressing the matter today ahead of Leaders’ Questions, Murphy told deputies that she was referring the matter to a Dáil committee in a bid to “avoid any further disorder”.

“We need to get on with the business of administering the affairs of the state, rather than arguing endlessly over how we administer the affairs of this House. The public will not thank us for doing so.”

She said McDonald has made a complaint that the Taoiseach accused her of telling lies.

“The essence of the Taoiseach’s response is that he did not make such remarks.

Murphy said in the Taoiseach’s response, he references many instances where members of the opposition accuse him of lies and no sanction was imposed. 

“We have to take the matter of the use of language seriously,” she said, stating that she will all the correspondence from McDonald and the Taoiseach to the Dáil Committee on Procedures and Privileges for their consideration in the broader context of standards in the use of parliamentary language. 

The use of bad language was examined in a 2010 report, which was drawn up by the Dáil committee.

Murphy said she plans to now circulate the 2010 report on ‘bad language’ to members of the House.

She also wants it examined by the committee to see if it needs to updated and “made fit for purpose” for the 34th Dáil.