Taoiseach 'genuinely taken aback by behaviour of opposition' in Dáil speaking rights row
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Dáil 'cannot be run based on what Sinn Féin thinks is right'. Picture: Leah Farrell/ RollingNews.ie
The Dáil speaking rights row is about "much more than one person", the Taoiseach has said, accusing the opposition of seeking "electoral advantage" from the long-running saga.
The row has rumbled on for weeks and came to a head amid raucous Dáil scenes on Tuesday and the tabling of a motion of no-confidence in Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy on Wednesday.
While the opposition has repeatedly made the case that a new speaking slot for backbench TDs was simply an attempt to accommodate Tipperary independent TD Michael Lowry, Micheál Martin said he believed the issue went much further.
Asked in Paris on Thursday if he feared tying part of his political legacy to Mr Lowry, Mr Martin said he was "surprised" at how the issue had been framed.
"I'm genuinely taken aback by the scale of the activity and behaviour of the opposition on this, and Sinn Féin in particular. This is not about one individual at all, and that's the way it's been framed...it's been framed by the opposition, through the lens of one personality. And it's much more than that, and I've been very clear on that from the outset."
Mr Martin said the independent group, which includes Mr Lowry, had wanted full access to the Dáil's leaders questions and under the arrangement approved on Tuesday "that's no longer the case".
"We're talking about an eight-minute extra slot. Eight minutes to be shared among 60 TDs on a Wednesday and on a Thursday. Eight minutes extra, so I do ask the question, is all of what happened [this week], is it justified on the basis of what are modest changes and compromises that were made through the Dáil reform committee?"
Mr Martin denied reneging on a pledge to find a mutually agreeable solution to the issue, saying he did not believe the opposition wanted to find a solution.
Mr Martin called the proposal "a reasonable compromise".
"I think the tactics used by Sinn Féin in particular, and I'm surprised that there hasn't been adverse commentary on this, because there can be never any justification for a coordinated, premeditated decision not to allow others in the house to speak.
"I was not allowed to speak on Tuesday full stop over three minutes. And that tells its own story, and that was a deliberate tactic. That's a dangerous thing in a democracy. In a parliamentary democracy, if you deliberately shout down so a person can't be heard."
Mr Martin said the Dáil "cannot be run based on what Sinn Féin thinks is right".
"The opposition does not get a veto."
