Every Dáil day is a Friday in our dumbed down democracy

FIRST day of the new term and about 40 of the 166 TDs had made it into the chamber to listen to Bertie Ahern read out an unremarkable pro forma speech on the ambitions of Ireland’s EU presidency.

There was the usual excuse for the paltry number. A few Oireachtas committees were sitting that day. But where were the rest? The first resolution of the New Year? Let's get back to the usual pattern of Dáil Éireann: more vacant backbenches than vacant backbenchers.

The FF party whips had clearly given out a lash or two this week, because there were two dozen of the troops there at the start well at least for the 15 minutes of Mr Ahern's speech.