LAST UPDATE | 25 Feb

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has hit out at members of the Opposition, accusing them of having a “herd-like attitude” in relation to the row over speaking rights for the Regional Independents.

The row that derailed Dáil proceedings last month and delayed the election of Martin as Taoiseach has reignited in recent days, with a final decision on it likely to be made tomorrow when the Dáil’s Reform Committee meets again.

This evening, Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy wrote to members of the committee. 

She thanked them for their submissions and said that tomorrow’s meeting will focus solely on submissions related to the speaking rights row. 

“The issue of speaking rights has dominated the agenda for almost six weeks and it has to be resolved as a priority to ensure that Dáil Éireann can function effectively,” she wrote. 

In particular, she noted that the work of Dáil committees cannot be commenced until the issue is resolved. 

Murphy told members that they should be aware that she has been receiving feedback from other members of the House of the Oireachtas who are being “adversely affected” by the failure to resolve the row. 

“The people expect us to get down to business on their behalf,” Murphy wrote.

In response to Murphy’s letter, Opposition leaders said they wanted to “make clear our absolute and united opposition to ongoing government efforts to force through a position whereby Michael Lowry’s group of TDs are afforded access to Leaders’ Questions and Priority Questions”.

The statement added that “Government manoeuvres to try and achieve this outcome are farcical”, disruptive to the Dáil and “undermine the democratic process”.

The Opposition leaders also called on Murphy to “ensure that Leaders’ Questions and Priority Questions remain opportunities explicitly and solely for Opposition TDs”.

Heated Dáil exchange 

The issue once again led to heated exchanges in the Dáil this afternoon.

At the centre of the row are four Regional Independent TDs – Michael Lowry, Barry Heneghan, Danny Healy-Rae and Gillian Toole – who want to speak from opposition time in the Dáil, despite negotiating the programme for government.

The leaders of Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit all raised the issue in the Dáil again today and said they do not support the proposal put forward by the Government last week to create a new form of speaking time in the Dáil.

The Government has proposed the creation of “Other Members’ Questions”, a new section of Dáil time which four members of the Regional Independents Technical group, who have openly said they will support the government, can use.

“The proposal put forward by the Government and Taoiseach doesn’t even make grammatical sense. It doesn’t make legal sense,” Labour leader Ivana Bacik said in the Dáil today.

People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett said the Government was trying to “undermine democracy” with its proposal.

In response to the four leaders, the Taoiseach began by taking a dig at Sinn Féin and Labour, saying that he has “observed with some interest” the “growing alliance” between the two Opposition parties. 

He continued: “The Opposition keep using the phrase that the Government is trying to ram through [this proposal].

“It seems to me that the Opposition have been trying to ram through a new order, a new precedent.

“It is a fundamental basic principle that people are allowed associate with whom they like. That is being denied here for the first time since I became a member of Dáil Éireann.

“I’ve never seen this before.

“And there has been a bit of a herd-like attitude to this debate amongst the Opposition and some commentators as well.”

The Taoiseach went on to argue that backbench Government TDs do not get to ask priority questions in the Dáil and said “people would be shocked at the idea their TDs don’t have the right to speak”. 

He concluded by saying: “I am not going to be railroaded or browbeaten or intimidated by the Opposition in terms of this tactic.”

The Dáil Reform Committee will meet tomorrow afternoon to discuss the proposals put forward by the parties.