A more polarised, confrontational Dáil takes shape

A fractious week in Irish politics came to a close with the focus firmly on the figure of Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy. To the fury of Opposition parties, she refused to suspend Dáil proceedings on Tuesday despite chaotic scenes in the chamber as the Government’s new rules on speaking rights were passed.

Murphy was accused of acting in a partisan manner in her handling of the issue. But the fact that she owes her own position as Ceann Comhairle to the same agreement that led to the speaking rights row is the main reason she is now the centre of attention. Sinn Féin has tabled a motion of no confidence and the stage is set next week for the first vote on a sitting ceann comhairle in the State’s history.

The outcome is not in doubt. The Government will counter the Sinn Féin proposal with its own motion of confidence in Murphy, and will use its majority to ensure that it is passed. Over the course of the debate there will be accusations and counter-accusations, some of them bitter. At the same time, the country will be bracing itself for details of the US tariffs that Donald Trump is set to announce on Wednesday.

The dispute over speaking rights for Michael Lowry and his fellow Regional Independent TDs has been going on now for two months. It reflects real and legitimate Opposition anger at Government hubris and disregard for a basic principle of parliamentary procedure; politicians should not be able to negotiate a deal to support a government and then also avail of the rights afforded to the opposition. The idea was absurd from the start.

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But once the vote of confidence in Murphy is confirmed, the leaders of the different Opposition parties will need to determine the best course of action for each of them. This controversy has united parties across a broad ideological spectrum, from Independent Ireland to People Before Profit. They will have very disparate positions on many of the key issues on the upcoming political agenda.

These questions are most pressing for the parties of the centre left. Do they build on the co-operation with Sinn Féin which has been a notable feature of the speaking rights row? Or should they seek to differentiate themselves for fear of being overshadowed by the largest Opposition party?

The overall tone has already been set. This Dáil will be more polarised and more confrontational than the last. It remains unclear who benefits most from that reality, and whether the public loses patience at a moment of growing economic uncertainty.

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Michael Lowry and the Dáil speaking rights row: There were extraordinary scenes in the Dáil this week and days of chaos amid the latest developments in the row over the Government’s plan on speaking rights, culminating in the Opposition’s announcement that they will move a no-confidence motion in Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy. The Government’s plan benefits Michael Lowry’s group of Coalition-supporting Independents, and Miriam Lord wrote this week of the Tipperary North TD’s “smug ingratitude” about the chaos created by his own “audacious demand”. Justine McCarthy, meanwhile, wrote an open letter to Lowry’s constituents, saying he has “revelled in the mayhem he is causing, goading Opposition TDs by waving proactively at them across the chamber”.
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