‘We have gone backwards’: Opposition criticises proposals to resolve Dáil row

By Cate McCurry and Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Opposition parties have written to the Taoiseach to criticise “flawed”, “preposterous” proposals to resolve a row over how speaking time should be allocated to government-affiliated independents.

It comes as a member of the Dáil reform committee, which is attempting to resolve the issue, said they have “gone backwards” in trying to reach an agreement.

Efforts to appoint a Taoiseach two weeks ago were delayed by a day after the opposition disrupted proceedings in protest over speaking time.

Of the nine independents supporting the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael government – seven from the Regional Independent Group and two Kerry brothers Michael and Danny Healy-Rae – five are ministers of state.

Four of the other independents want to be part of a technical group, which would give them Dáil speaking slots during opposition time.

Opposition parties have argued this would dilute efforts to hold Government to account.

Despite talks being held this week to attempt to resolve the row before the Dáil resumes next Wednesday, they broke up on Friday without agreement.

The opposition has sent a letter to Taoiseach Micheál Martin criticising the latest proposal, which suggests a “hybrid” technical group that allows members to either support Government or not.

The letter read: “Despite taking a week to bring forward this proposal, it is clear the Government’s position remains unchanged — granting special parliamentary privileges to a group that is not in opposition.

“This attempt to designate the Regional Independents as an ‘informal technical grouping of unaligned members/hybrid group’ and to manipulate speaking time to favour them is fundamentally flawed and must be abandoned.”

Speaking on the plinth as the meeting at Leinster House broke up, opposition TDs suggested that there would be further disruption in the Dáil next week if current stances remain.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said that “we have gone backwards”.

“The proposal they currently tabled is even worse than the proposal that they tabled last night. It is an opposition technical group called something different.”

He said that there was a need to reconvene party leaders for a meeting over the weekend before the Dáil reform committee meets on Tuesday.

Asked what would happen when the Dáil reconvenes if no progress is made, Mr Murphy said: “That much hasn’t been discussed, exactly what form that would take, but I would think certainly the mood music from the opposition is absolute opposition to what is being attempted and we need to discuss the details of what that looks like.

“But, let’s say they have a meeting of the Dáil reform committee on Tuesday and vote this through by majority, that will not be acceptable to us and will be protested.”

Sinn Féin chief whip Padraig Mac Lochlainn said “we rule nothing out” in relation to what would happen on Wednesday, and said that “no self-respecting opposition could accept this”.

He added: “We want the Dail to sit… obviously in opposition, we want to do our job. But we can’t be taken for fools. This has to come to a sensible conclusion. I’m actually genuinely shocked that we’re still talking about this now over a week later.

“We waited a whole a week for the Government to present their draft solution and it was absolutely an insult to our intelligence what was given to us yesterday. We spent five-and-a-half hours and and there was nothing was conceded by Government, nothing, and here we are again today.”

Deputy leader of the Social Democrats, Cian O’Callaghan, said that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael need to stop “dancing to the tune of Michael Lowry”, the Tipperary TD who led the Regional Independents during government formation talks.

He added: “The entire proposal being put forward, where government backbench TDs would masquerade not just as members of the opposition, but the latest proposals we saw this week (they would) effectively be masquerading as leaders of the opposition, is utterly preposterous, totally unacceptable.

“It will never fly, not alone with opposition, I think with the general public as well, who have not been impressed by this carry-on, especially when there’s very serious issues facing the country that we should be all focusing on.”

Why is government bending over backwards to try to get them treated as opposition when everyone knows they're not?

Last week Martin & Harris said that there is no deal with Lowry on this.
From what went on last night, I now find that extremely hard to believe.#LowrysLackeys pic.twitter.com/aPB9nkdy60

— Paul Murphy 🏳️‍⚧️ (@paulmurphy_TD) January 31, 2025

A spokesperson for the Government, Chief Whip Mary Butler, said that the Government was “disappointed” that the opposition had chosen “to dismiss the proposal, while the Government remains open to positive engagement”.

She added: “Our Dail must be able to function, and we cannot have a repeat of the scenes in the chamber last week, and no individuals should be able to hold the Dail to ransom.

“The Government is focused on an orderly meeting of the Dail next week, to address the aftermath of Storm Éowyn and the business that the public expect all of our elected representatives to do.”

Earlier on Friday, Mr Martin said there had been “simplistic utterances” on the issue, and that his Fianna Fáil party had commissioned senior counsel opinion on the matter.

Asked whether he believe it will be resolved, Mr Martin said: “I would hope so. We will keep talking. We want to try and resolve this.

“Could I say at the outset, I think there’s been a lot of, I think, simplistic utterances about this entire situation.

“Our party has commissioned senior counsel opinion on this just to create a context because there’s a notion going around that opposition and government, you can’t be in either, that’s far too simplistic because go back to 1932 and from then onwards, people from opposition benches have been supporting different governments in different ways.

“For example, the confidence supply agreement between the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael from 2016 to 2020, if what Sinn Féin is saying and People Before Profit are saying that you can’t be in opposition and support government or be involved in discussions around the programme for government or budget, we would not have had confidence and supply.

“That programme for government was influenced by the main opposition party, the budgets were influenced by the two-to-one rule about two times expenditure versus tax relief.

“Into the future, we’ve got to be careful not to be overly prescriptive about what a Dail might do, or members of the Dáil might do.”

Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy said in a statement: “A Dáil that can reach consensus is ultimately better for democracy and becomes truly representative of the people’s wishes.

“It is regrettable that no consensus or agreement could be reached today. As Ceann Comhairle, I am committed to continuing with this process and to exhausting every possible avenue.

“The Committee has agreed to reconvene on February 4th at 12pm, having reflected over the weekend on today’s discussions.”