Dáil row: Parties meet after Ceann Comhairle’s intervention
By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA
A key meeting is being held after the Ceann Comhairle ruled that government-affiliated independents could not be given opposition speaking time.
Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy released a statement on Monday night saying that she is not satisfied the four independents are in opposition and therefore cannot recognise them as part of a technical group.
The Dáil Reform Committee is meeting on Tuesday, ahead of the return of the Dáil on Wednesday, in an attempt to resolve the row that saw proceedings to elect a Taoiseach delayed by a day.
Opposition parties disrupted the Dáil two weeks ago to protest against giving independent TDs who had been involved in government formation talks speaking time during opposition slots.
An agreement was made to allow for the appointment of Micheál Martin as Taoiseach while a resolution was found.
In the two weeks since then, a resolution has not been found, with People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy stating on Friday they were “going backwards” after the latest proposal from government for a “hybrid” technical group of TDs.
Speaking ahead of the Dáil Reform Committee meeting, acting leader of the Social Democrats Cian O’Callaghan said that Ms Murphy’s decision “vindicates what we’ve been saying” and “draws a line in the sand”.
He said: “I hope that all parties now respect it and agree with it and move on.”
He added: “At this stage I don’t know what the government position is on this, I think though it would be welcome if they respected the Ceann Comhairle’s ruling, accepted it.
“There is ample speaking time available on the government side to give to backbenchers supporting the government so there is no lack of time to give.”
Mr O’Callaghan said it would be “very bad faith” for the government to change the standing orders in a way that would not be agreeable to the opposition, as it would go against a commitment made during a meeting of the party leaders.
“If this is drawn to a close, it is a significant win for the opposition. It does show that opposition parties working together can achieve results,” he added.
“It is more of a win for our democratic procedures. It is a clear signal to anyone who thinks that, through whatever forms of deals, (they) can try and undo the basic democratic procedures we’ve been operating on, in terms of government and opposition, it’s a clear signal to them that they won’t, can’t get away with these things.”
After November’s general election, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael agreed to re-form a government together.
They swapped out the Greens as junior coalition partners for a group of independents.
Of the nine independents involved in government formation talks with the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael government – seven from the Regional Independent Group and two Kerry brothers Michael and Danny Healy-Rae – five are ministers of state.
Four other independents – Michael Lowry, Gillian Toole, Barry Heneghan and Danny Healy-Rae – want to be part of a technical group, which would give them Dail speaking slots during opposition time.
Mr Lowry, who led the Regional Independents in government formation talks and who Ms Murphy credited as suggesting her for the role of Ceann Comhairle, has not commented on the matter since Monday’s statement.
