MR DAVID NORRIS (Independent) spoke too soon yesterday. He told of reading, while returning from abroad, the words of the President, Mrs Robinson, "who suggested that politicians should moderate their language in attacking each other".
Mr Norris said he was glad to see that such advice appeared to have been taken on board in the chamber as far as reaction to the recent resignation of Mr Michael Lowry was concerned.
But the echo of Mr Norris's words had hardly died away when Ms Marian McGennis (FF) inquired what timeframe the Government proposed to allow for Mr Lowry to respond to media reports about his dealings with Mr Ben Dunne. How much time was Mr Lowry to be given to deal with possible taxation aspects of the affair? There had been extensive media advertising about social welfare fraud, and some of her constituents had asked her how the Lowry controversy would be handled.
House leader Mr Maurice Manning regretted that Ms McGennis had tried to score "a cheap shot". He said Mr Lowry should be given time with his advisers to prepare his response.
An indignant Ms McGennis rejected Mr Manning's charge. "Sixty per cent of my constituents are unemployed and they are asking me if . . politicians are mentioned in this report. . ."