It was words of the late Jim Kemmy that attempted vainly to set a moral tone for the day. John Bruton told the House of a conversation he had had with Mr Kemmy shortly before he died. "We in politics should have more respect for our profession," Mr Kemmy had told him.
Des O'Malley, who paid one of a number of tributes to the late Labour Party chairman, said: "At a time like this we need someone like him, because I think you could fairly say that he gave politics a good name."
Which wasn't something you could have said about yesterday's proceedings to a visitor from Mars, had one dropped into the Dail chamber yesterday.
It started in a civilised enough manner. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, spent some time answering questions about what his Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ray Burke, had said in Washington about Sinn Fein settling for less than a united Ireland.
Mr Burke himself came in in the middle of all this and stood at the top of the steps, hand in jacket pocket, listening to Mr Ahern explaining what he had really meant.
Then it was Mr Burke's turn to answer a series of questions . . . about the Amsterdam Treaty, why Ireland wouldn't join the NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace programme, where the State might open embassies in the future, and about what he had said in Washington. A wide variety of issues.
He was gone, as it happens, before an unrelated matter had the Dail in uproar for well over an hour.
Fine Gael whip Sean Barrett and Labour whip Brendan Howlin sought a special debate on whether to include the payment of £30,000 to Mr Burke in the terms of reference of the recently-established Moriarty tribunal.
Proinsias de Rossa wanted to debate whether Mr Burke should have his functions as Minister for Foreign Affairs given to someone else temporarily.
The Ceann Comhairle, Mr Seamus Pattison, said these matters could not be discussed as they were not urgent enough and could have been raised some other time.
The opposition did lots of shouting. The Taoiseach said he would give them all copies of the proposed terms of reference for the new tribunal shortly.
Pat Rabbitte said he had read them over someone's shoulder while on a television programme on Monday night, and he saw no reference to Ray Burke in them. John Bruton was furious that the opposition parties were not consulted over them.
Mr Ahern hinted there might be a bucket of mud hidden under his seat. There were "six or seven" other issues that could arise during this new tribunal which might then be investigated, he said.
Mr Bruton appeared outraged and demanded that names be named.
"You're very nervous," called Dermot Ahern.
Mr Bruton said a Fianna Fail majority had controlled Dublin County Council at the relevant time. Independent socialist Mr Joe Higgins said that it was a "Fianna Fail/Fine Gael rezoning coalition" which had made all the controversial decisions.
Mary Harney, sitting beside the Taoiseach, wrote a note but didn't give it to anyone.
The pandemonium continued for over an hour. Joe Higgins tried to get in for ages, but kept finding himself thwarted by procedural rules.
Meanwhile everyone else who wanted to, it seemed, got to speak at will.
Proinsias de Rossa condemned the Government's attitude. "This kind of shilly-shallying will have to stop," he declared. "Otherwise we will all go down the tubes."
Finally the "debate" ended. There was a moment's silence which Pat Rabbitte filled by asking: "I wonder would Minister McDaid design a logo for tribunals for us?"