The 22nd of January was a day for the history books as our newest Dáil sat for a mere half-hour (being generous) and, for the first time in over one hundred years, failed to elect a Taoiseach.
As the Dáil gathered on the morning of the 22nd, things quickly took a chaotic turn as Government Chief-Party Whip Hildegarde Naughton announced speaking rights in the Dáil – a decision which sparked uproar, as the speaking times suggested government technical groups take on the harrowing task of speaking for Opposition on behalf of the government.
This intersection of the Government and Opposition, which might be lovingly referred to as “pro-government-opposition-wink-wink”, is more commonly known as “Michael Lowery & Co”. Lowery’s esteemed position in the House of the Oireachtas is not one that many could handle; one whose duties include (but are certainly not limited to) campaigning in support of the current government, joining a technical group for fun and soaking up Opposition speaking time. It’s Michael Lowery’s government and we are all just living in it.
Thankfully, such revelations in our democracy can continue in the Leinster House as Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy jumped at the opportunity to force the Opposition to “resume their seats” by way of an official naughty step to be built in the dail.
This 15-centimeter-tall and 20-centimeter-wide step is to be constructed at the end of the opposition benches and should be ready for use by 5th February, unless the Office of Public Works is commissioned to construct another wall, as that could set them back countless months and hundreds of thousands of euros… again. The OPW has estimated this step to just shy of €45,000 as long as it is not painted, as the paint may cost more than an extra €3500. A small price to pay for a bit of peace and quiet for THE Ceann Comhairle.
At the time of writing this article, our now-Taoiseach Michael Martin has assigned his ministers via the very well known pick-a-name-from-the-hat method. This system, a classic in the Dáil, saw the election of three women senior ministers, one less than in the previous government.
This comes as a shock to no one. A spokesperson for Mr. Martin stated that the media is trying to make this about misogyny, when it is really just a game of chance. Since two of these three ministers held senior positions in the last government, they of course have a higher chance of their name being pulled from the hat when assigning the senior ministers. Since it really has nothing to do with proportional representation of our population, the government cannot be held responsible for whose name gets pulled from this hat.
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