Chaos in Leinster House: how the vote for taoiseach went off the rails

Relations between opposition and government parties reached a new low on a dramatic day

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The Opposition has said it will not back down from its demands in a standoff over Dáil speaking time. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images.
The Opposition has said it will not back down from its demands in a standoff over Dáil speaking time. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images.

Instead of the expected election of a taoiseach and appointment of ministers, today Leinster House was the scene of chaos and an unprecedented disruption of Dáil tradition, with the Opposition saying it will not back down from its demands in a standoff over speaking time.

Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy were there and they tell Hugh Linehan what happened and why on this episode of the Inside Politics podcast.