Matt Carthy

When Donald Trump stood yesterday and declared he wanted to essentially ethnically cleanse Palestinian land, forcibly transfer tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians from their homeland, replace them with others and essentially create a new society, many people were shocked, except that is essentially the story of Palestine for the past century. The Palestinian story is a story of displacement…

The Government had six years to do it.

You have had six years to do it.

Good man, Peadar.

That is not good enough. That is not fair.

How can the-----

How can the Government Chief Whip defend a situation where Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael-----

-----are getting 15 minutes each to speak, while Sinn Féin, which is larger than Fine Gael, the record should show, is getting ten minutes?

The Ceann Comhairle has said that she intends to be fair and impartial, but her first decisions are not fair or impartial. In fact, she has facilitated the situation where the only Dáil Deputy-----

-----that she credited upon her election to the post, Deputy Lowry-----

One of her first actions is to facilitate his charade for him and other members of the Government-----

-----where they are essentially backing a situation where they are supporting this charade.

It is completely unfair and undemocratic. I must say I am really disappointed that the Ceann Comhairle is facilitating such a charade. It is completely unfair and undemocratic.

I am really disappointed that you, a Cheann Comhairle, are facilitating such a charade.

It is not acceptable at all.

I do not think it behoves the dignity of your office or this Dáil if we allow this charade to continue-----

-----as has been outlined today. It is absolutely not good enough.

Why is it that your provisional arrangement favours the so-called technical group, a Cheann Comhairle?

A Cheann Comhairle-----

This is one of the first times on the Order of Business-----

-----that I have been a part of that Deputy Mattie McGrath has not had something to say.

Now is his opportunity-----

-----to let us know why he is facilitating this charade and why the Deputy beside him is. Maybe he should get an opportunity to tell the Dáil why he is going to support an increase in carbon taxes for the next five years, thereby increasing costs for people driving to work and heating their homes and for farmers, and then pretending that he is in the Opposition-----

-----and then having the facilitation of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Peadar Tóibín and Mattie McGrath to carry on in this charade.

This is a test of you, a Cheann Comhairle, and so far you are failing the test.