Mary Lou McDonald

You even got a thumbs up from the Government Chief Whip for all your efforts.

The Ceann Comhairle failed to hold a vote to agree Dáil Business when a vote was called. You dumped promised legislation; and in your rush to ram through the Government motion, you only called a vote on an amendment and not on a substantive motion but still declared the Government motion had been passed.

This was farcical, a clear breach of Dáil rules. It was unprecedented and it was unacceptable.

Your actions yesterday, a Cheann Comhairle, were demonstrably partisan and lacked the partiality and independence demanded of your position.

Who convinced the Ceann Comhairle to play her part in this disgraceful charade, or is it simply that bias for the Government is baked into the very deal that secured her position? That is now the question.

Thaispeáin an Ceann Comhairle nach bhfuil sí neamhchlaonta nó neamhspleách. Thacaigh sí go daingean leis an Rialtas chun an beart aiféalach le Michael Lowry a chosaint. Ní féidir léi leanúint ar aghaidh sa phost. Caithfidh sí imeacht. A Cheann Comhairle, not alone have you lost the confidence of the entire Opposition, you have in fact decimated it-----

-----and the Dáil cannot function properly while you remain in the Chair.

Above all, the Ceann Comhairle must be impartial, fair and independent. By your actions, you have demonstrated that you are not. Your position is therefore untenable. I ask you to reflect very carefully on this because you need to go.

Absolutely not.

Try as you may wish, Taoiseach, with all the tools of deflection, there was one person and one side of the House that undermined democracy yesterday and it was the Government.

Yes, you get to defend your rights as a Government. You have assembled your Government between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry Independents. That is your prerogative - I absolutely recognise that - but you do not get to put together the Opposition.

That is the point. The most basic rule of the functioning of this place is the distinction between the Government exercising its prerogatives and the Opposition holding it robustly to account. You do not like accountability, Micheál Martin - cry me a river, because you will be held to account. The other basic necessity is the independence and absolute impartiality of the Ceann Comhairle. Very regr…

Sure we saw it.

It is not false.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

No, you have not.

Yes. The Opposition.

Like what?

Go away with you.

Yes. An absolute disgrace.

That is not correct. That is nonsense.

Hear, hear.

The Taoiseach set out the road to government of the Lowry TDs. He emphasised their willingness to serve, their forensic analysis of the programme for Government and then their accession to high office - all of the building blocks that define them categorically as Government TDs. The Taoiseach is quite right. After an election there is of course a necessity to assemble a Government and you did that…

Robust opposition.