COMMENT

FOR the second week in a row, TDs voted to have a lower than normal attendance on Friday, the last Dáil sitting day before Christmas. It was agreed just 10 TDs had to be present all day, a reduction of the normal afternoon requirement for 20 TDs to be present.

The main item on the agenda was the most pressing crisis faced by the State, child homelessness. Only 15 TDs attended that debate, and only 19 were present for a follow-on debate on domestic violence, despite the annual spike in such incidents over Christmas.

This is scandalous. We elect our TDs to sort out these issues, not to vote for a little more time off. Let us hope they at least understand how fortunate they are to have homes to return to.