Dail adjourned as Irish government pushes through controversial speaking changes
The opposition criticised video footage of Michael Lowry making a gesture to a TD as the Dail was adjourned.
The Irish parliament has been adjourned for the day after controversial changes on speaking rights were voted through amid chaotic scenes.
There are questions over the tenure of the speaker of the lower house Verona Murphy after opposition leaders indicated they did not have confidence in her.
Ceann Comhairle Ms Murphy adjourned the Dail until Wednesday morning after declaring that the change to the standing orders was carried, despite opposition parties attempting to obstruct the result.
The vote is understood to be 94 to 74.
Opposition tellers refused to sign the paper, but Ms Murphy said it was carried.
It came after chaotic scenes of shouting, interruptions and allegations of misogyny over the speaking rights row as weeks of tension boiled over during Leaders’ Questions.
Video footage posted online by People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy shows Michael Lowry, who is at the centre of the controversy, making a gesture towards the camera as the chants reverberate around the House.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and other representatives said that “the image of the day” would be Mr Lowry “giving us the two fingers, but much more damningly, giving the Irish people the two fingers too”.
The Irish government has pushed for new Dail speaking slots for coalition backbenchers and government-aligned independents, a reduction in the time allocated to debate the order of business, and a halving of time for Taoiseach’s Questions.
Independents who entered into government negotiations were led by Mr Lowry – a former Fine Gael minister of state who was found by a tribunal to have behaved in a way that was “profoundly corrupt to a degree that was nothing short of breathtaking”.
The government and opposition have disagreed over how four coalition-affiliated independent TDs, including Mr Lowry, should be given speaking slots in the Dail.
Weeks after the government said it would try to find a compromise with the opposition, the government moved to push through its proposals on Tuesday.
Before the vote took place, opposition TDs took to their feet and raised their objections, ignoring pleas from the Ceann Comhairle to resume their seats.
During the lengthy standoff, Ms Murphy ordered TDs to sit down, saying their actions were “an absolute disgrace” and they were making a “holy show of yourselves”.
“It’s very clear you have no respect for the chair, none whatsoever,” she said.
“One of your colleagues mentioned misogyny. Misogyny is what was mentioned earlier.”
She then invited the government chief whip Mary Butler to continue with the next item amid a chorus of raised voices from dozens of opposition TDs.
“The order of business has been agreed to, I adjourn the House,” Ms Murphy said before leaving the Dail chamber as the cacophony continued.
Proceedings were adjourned for a short time before they resumed to hold a vote on the amendments to the standing orders, which Ms Murphy said were carried.
Ms Murphy then adjourned the Dail for the day before 4pm.
The opposition said it would “fight tooth and nail” against the measures which the government insists are “modest” and “minuscule”.
Ms McDonald later said she did not accept that the votes had been ratified and said “everything is still on the table” as to how the opposition would respond.
In a joint press conference on Tuesday evening, the leaders of Sinn Fein, Labour, Independent Ireland, People Before Profit and the Green Party, as well as an Aontu TD and the deputy leader of the Social Democrats, indicated that they did not have confidence in the Ceann Comhairle.
Asked to raise their hand if they had confidence in Ms Murphy, no representative did so.
Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, Ms McDonald said: “What exactly does Michael Lowry have over you Micheal Martin? What debt do you owe to him?
“A former Fine Gael minister, a rogue politician, as you described him, now kingmaker for your government, a man who you want to sit in both government and opposition at the same time.
“The combined opposition has repeatedly sought to meet with you to resolve this matter.
“Our offers have either been rejected or ignored. You act in bad faith and to meet your narrow short-term need to placate Lowry and co, you now propose to do real and lasting damage to the democratic processes of the Dail.
“The combined opposition are not backing down on this matter. We reject your attempt to run roughshod over this Dail and to ram through this motion.”
Labour leader Ivana Bacik accused the government of “dragging us back to this absurd technical groups issue” in its latest proposal on Dail speaking time.
She said that the Ceann Comhairle had decided that Mr Lowry and three other government-affiliated independent TDs were not in opposition and accused Irish premier Micheal Martin of “defending the indefensible”.
“To describe Lowry’s group as wolves in sheep’s clothing would give them too much credit, but they are certainly a very poor tribute act,” she said.
Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan called it “extraordinary” and a “shameless political stroke that would make even Bertie blush”.
“In more than 100 years of this Dail, Taoiseach, never, ever in the weekly schedule, has there been a time slot created where 100% of the time is allocated to the government,” Mr O’Callaghan said.
“Do you not see something fundamentally wrong with a time slot being created where government TDs ask the government minister, the government Taoiseach, questions without any input from opposition.”
Asked where in the world this happens, Mr Martin said “Westminster”.
The Fianna Fail leader then took aim at the Labour Party and Social Democrats, and said: “It seems the election result has never sunk in with people on the opposite side. That’s just a reality.”
After he was repeatedly interrupted while speaking during the heated dispute, the Fianna Fail leader said: “I was elected to this House first in 1989, I have never seen an attempt like this.”
Opposition parties argue the changes are an attempt to dilute their ability to hold the government to account and to blur the relationship between the independents who have supported the formation of the coalition and opposition.
The row has its origins in the formation of Ireland’s current coalition involving Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, supported by several independents.
Some of those independents have been appointed as junior ministers while the others had sought to join an opposition technical group for the purposes of speaking time, despite supporting the formation of the government.
The row delayed Mr Martin’s nomination as Taoiseach in January and has trundled on despite several inter-party meetings and the intervention of the Ceann Comhairle in favour of the opposition.
This led to a brief reprieve before the dispute was reignited after the government put forward a new proposal to change speaking time arrangements and suggested it would use its majority to push them through.
The coalition changes deal with the matter of the government-aligned independents by creating a new designation of “other members”, rather than the binary distinction of opposition or government.
A side-effect of the row is that parliamentary committees have also not reformed since the general election last year.
Opposition parties have raised uncertainty over whether the government will seek to use the proposed new technical group for the purposes of getting more representation on committees.
