From top: Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly, Labour TD Aodhán Ó Riordan, Independent TD Mattie McGrath; Dáil vote
Tonight.
At the Dáil sitting in the Convention Centre in Dublin.
Fianna Fáil TD Jack Chambers put forward the proposal that the Dáil adjourn this evening and return on September 15.
Before the vote, Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly proposed that the Dáil convene next Tuesday to facilitate questions and answers to and from Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and the Minister for Employment and Social Protection Heather Humphreys about the PUP/social welfare controversy and the statement made by the Data Protection Commissioner in respect of the gathering of data by social welfare inspectors and gardai at airports and ports.
Ms O’Reilly also said the Dáil doesn’t need a six-week holiday and that deputies should return on September 1.
Labour TD Aodhán Ó Riordan said Labour was supporting Sinn Féin’s proposal but added that another item needed to be resolved before the Dáil took its summer recess – specifically: “The issue of pandemic unemployment payments for those who are self-employed and those who are in receipt of employee wages and self-employed wages who are now going to be put on a lower schedule of payment.”
He added:
“Now we can only resolve this issue if the Dáil is in sitting and we can’t have a six-week recess for those who are in receipt of this payment. So it would be very simple for us to return here on Tuesday, have questions over and back on this issue and come to a resolution on the issue that has been outlined by Deputy O’Reilly and also the issue that has been outlined by myself.”
Independent TD Mattie McGrath also called for the Dáil to return next week.
In the end, TDs voted 81-44 to return to the Dáil on September 15.
Meanwhile, earlier…
The opposition walk out of the #Dail – the government has brought politics into disrepute tonight. Shambolic. pic.twitter.com/tatPCDuYlY
— Mick Caul (@caulmick) July 30, 2020
Former Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar says he is ashamed of the parliament tonight.
To be fair after his government pushed through a bill supporting vulture funds, he is right.#Dail pic.twitter.com/5zivvN3IsJ
— Mick Caul (@caulmick) July 30, 2020
Watch live here
Earlier: Departure From The Norm
6 weeks is longer than they’ve been sitting
Comedy gold!
Leo is annoyed because he can skull cans of beer in the Phoenix Park next week
Is he angry about the Aide De Camp or the six Advisors he is getting?
And i have not mentioned the vulture funds
When is his next photo op?
We are all in this together………
Poor Leokins. The pressure is showing. Complaining about being interrupted. Boo hoo – the boy wants more time to not answer questions?
Hahahaha, what a pathetic adult he is – at our expense.
What is the vulture fund reference, anyone know?
I believe it’s this defeated motion that would have offered protections to tenants
https://www.broadsheet.ie/2020/07/30/its-not-easy-being-green-2/
Standard ffg mission statement – keep the vultures happy.
During a pandemic crisis FFGG show their concern by going on extended holiday’s. Their achievements to date, Orwellian thug like attacks on welfare recipients, awarding themselves disgusting pay rises and multiple political scandals. Now they are away can we lock the gates please!
…looks like Neasa has rejoined the government…to vote for the holidays…
No cheap populist trick left untried.
Voting for shorter Dail breaks, where have I seen that before? Oh yes, every year, yawn.
Look at the earnest looks on the faces of these political hacks – permanently outraged Aodhan, constantly pandering Mattie, and Peig Sayers.
Usual Trot grandstanding.
fortunately we’re getting a six week break from that too
Someone is being paid a small fortune to provide video feeds of this hot air symposium, the least they could do is sort the sync out, that’s the real outrage.
What exactly is Leo ashamed about?
The government voting for six weeks holidays in the middle of the biggest crisis of our lifetimes?
I hope that’s a staycation, I’m not paying for them to pish off to Spain, I want them sitting in an overpriced damp cottage playing Scrabble , dying relative ? , I don’t care Skype them it’s only the end of a life, need a medical procedure ? no stay in bed in pain otherwise you’re out on your ear and guess what’s there isn’t a new job easily found and you can starve to death on the streets for all I care…
He didn’t say he was ashamed. He said embarrassed. It is in the video above…. and a transcript is also available:
I am embarrassed to be a Member of this Chamber tonight because of the behaviour from some of the parties here. I want people at home to listen to the number of times I am going to be interrupted when I try to say a few words in this Chamber because of the arrogance, nastiness and abusiveness of some of the smaller parties and the far left parties in this House who try to dominate this Chamber. Anytime anyone from Government stands up, a Minister tries to speak or a backbencher tries to make a point, they shout us down in the same way they bully people online.
Day in and day out they bully people in the Chamber because they come from a larger party or a Government party. I want the people at home tonight and the people who will listen to this on the radio tomorrow morning to know that what we have here is a new set of procedures, which will still give the Opposition parties 74% of the speaking time, even though they have less than half the seats. If there is anyone who should be complaining, it is the Government parties. We have more than half of the votes, we have more than half of the seats and we are only getting about 25% of the speaking time. They are getting a disproportionate share of the speaking time. We are the ones who should be grandstanding, not them. In terms of the order in which people speak, surely it makes sense that the largest parties that got hundreds of thousands of votes, should come in before those that got one, two or three percent. Surely that is fairness and democracy and that is all we are trying to restore here.
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2020-07-30/58/
Yeah well embarrassed then- is he not embarrassed about the government voting for six weeks holidays in the middle of the biggest crisis of our lifetimes?
He should be- and ashamed.
We coped for 3 months without a government…. The 6 week holiday is for the opposition and backbenchers. The Ministers & juniors will be working.
Anyway I’m sure all the TDs will be working hard in their constituency offices and attending funerals.
god, some of you are really contriving to hammer the people who *don’t* want a 6 week holiday for themselves
So jack is is the big boss now .why does he need six weeks holidays,workers on €25,000 only get two and have no say in the matter
The irony of Leo talking about representation of speaking time awarded to people based on the size of their vote considering he wasn’t reelected in his own backyard until the 5th round. First Taoiseach ever not to top the poll too I believe