Across a day of manufactured chaos that has become monotonous in the extreme, the interjection from Ivana Bacik was the only bit of sanity to come from either the Government or the opposition.

Instead, elected representatives of all political hues took part in a farcical and embarrassing argy-bargy which now centres around eight minutes of speaking time.

The descent into disorder was well flagged by members of the opposition, but still Tánaiste Simon Harris — perhaps in hope rather than any real expectation —  asked that they refrain from turning the Dáil into a creche ahead of the debate.

When the Dáil did convene at 2pm it took just a few moments for the childish behaviour to begin, drowning out calls from Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy to have respect for the chair.

"You are making an absolute holy show of yourselves," Murphy said at one stage. 

Fighting to be heard above the rising din, she wasn't wrong.

While the public may have been squarely behind the opposition at the beginning of the speaking time row, far too much time has now been wasted on what is now essentially a petty spat. People outside the Leinster House bubble have moved on — and probably can't fully remember how the debacle started at this stage — politicians have not.

Just one piece of legislation, to allow for a greater number of junior ministers, has been passed since the general election in November.

Oireachtas committees, which play a crucial role in examining new laws, scrutinising the spending of public money and holding ministers and their departments to account, have yet to be established.

Our TDs are failing in their legislative duties and in doing so, they are also failing to protect our national interests.

At a time of great global upheaval where our security, defence, and economic interests are in peril, our national representatives are behaving like infants.

In fact, you would see far more co-operation among a group of pre-schoolers.

The Tánaiste's 'creche' interjection came just hours before he flew to Lebanon to visit Irish peacekeepers, who, in stark contrast to our politicians, are a source of great pride as they risk their lives in carrying out their duties amid growing tensions along the Israel border.

On his way into the weekly Cabinet meeting, Harris said he was not concerned about a Dáil walkout, which had been mooted ahead of the controversial vote but never materialised.

Instead, Harris said: "I'm worried about the safety of our troops in Lebanon, I'm worried about making sure we continue to protect jobs and investment in Ireland — and really, any sort of political stunts, I really don't have much bandwidth for them. 

"There are an awful lot of serious things going on in the world, there are an awful lot of serious challenges presenting themselves to our country."

The speaking time row is likely to rumble on, but it is high time that our representatives focus on the real and concerning issues and put an end to the bickering.