Spat with Healy-Raes was taken in isolation - Marc
It was an amusing Dáil spat that was highlighted by the national broadvcaster on its main evening news but Fianna Fáil TD Marc MacSharry has described his run-in with Kerry TD brothers Danny and Michael Healy-Rae as “news taken in isolation.”
Deputy MacSharry told The Sligo Champion that the row over speaking time which led to the Dáil being suspended for five minutes didn’t deserve such highlighting by the national media.
“It’s regrettable that it ended up on national television. It’s news taken in isolation.
“I’d much rather have preferred if RTE had come to Athlone on Monday night to a packed public meeting on the Government’s national plan and the fears and concerns for everyone in the North West and Midlands on this or come to Easkey on Tuesday night to hear how a community is angry at the prospect of losing its post office.
“I attended both of those meetings and it’s a pity these issues didn’t get the same attention on RTE or in a column by Miriam Lord,” he said.
The row with the Healy-Rae brothers was difficult to dicipher but the Leas- Cheann Comhairle Donegal TD Pat The Cope Gallagher suspended the Dáil appeared to take their side and told the Sligo-Leitrim TD at one stage to control himself.
The angry scenes were sparked after Danny Healy Rae raised the issue of the programme for government committing to protect farmers. Michael Healy Rae indicated that he wanted to share speaking time and stood up to speak, which Deputy MacSharry appeared to object to.
He had objected to the way a new speaking rule was being implemented amid allegations of queue jumping. He admitted the row looked unseemly and said that ironically he would normally support what the two Kerry TDs would be raising.
“On this occasion it was an issue in relation to farm payments and mine was about rural post offices but the two issues got lost because of the route they took,” he said.
On RTE Radio One’s Five Seven Live with Mary Wilson the clip from the Dáil was played without any commentary or explanation other than that the house was suspended for five minutes.
The Dáil is trialing a new system where TDs need numbered cards in order to be allowed to speak on an issue. There was plenty of support for Deputy MacSharry on social media both locally and nationally but in a poll of over 3,000 people on the journal.ie some 40% labelled the row as embarrassing while 28% said it was a healthy sign of democracy with 20% saying it was unacceptable and 10% suggesting it was a bit of fun.
Deputy McSharry claimed speaking arrangements in Dail Eireann were unequal.
“Party leaders and independents get more than anyone else by a country mile. That’s not to impugn or disagree with what they are saying all the time but what we have is ‘animal farm’ style distribution of speaking time. All people are equal but some are more equal that others - equal mandate should mean at least some semblance of access to speak.
“At present it doesn’t. Great respect for all TDs and their mandates but it’s no more than others. Independents put themselves forward as such then enter Dail chamber and form defacto parties (technical groups) and as a result gain ‘party leader speaking time rights’. That undermines mandate of all the rest from all parties who have to squabble to get a 60 second slot. It’s wrong and not balanced. TDs must have equal proportion of speaking time on behalf of constituents, he said.