Taoiseach’s no-show is blasted by SF
SINN Fein blasted new Taoiseach Simon Harris’s absence from the Dail yesterday afternoon because he was too busy taking calls from world leaders.
Opposition parties criticised the Government for voting through changes to the Dail order of business for yesterday which meant that Leaders’ Questions was among the items dropped from the schedule.
Government chief whip Hildegarde Naughten said Mr Harris was unable to take Leaders’ Questions as he had to conduct phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as well as Northern
Ireland First Minister Michelle O’neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-pengelly.
Ms Naughten said he is also preparing to travel to Brussels and Warsaw today.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou Mcdonald described the new Taoiseach as a “no-show”, and noted he had ended a contribution on Tuesday with the words: “Let’s get to work.”
She said: “We have a lot of work to do, the Government has a lot of questions to answer, and yet the Taoiseach has not shown up – this is wholly unacceptable.”
Ms Mcdonald added: “We’ve shown up to do our job. We are here, we’ve shown in for work; where is the Taoiseach? He ought to be here taking questions and dealing with the issues that matter to the people.”
Labour leader Ivana Bacik expressed “disappointment” with the changes to the schedule.
She said: “It is simply unacceptable that we have business not ordered properly and what looks, if I may say, somewhat like made-up business over the next two days when there’s so much important work to be done.”
Social Democrats TD
Catherine Murphy said the Business Committee, which decides the Dail schedule, had become a “facade”.