Sexist piggies caught in Dáil
Mick Wallace was recorded making offensive remarks about a female TD to fellow independent deputies Luke “Ming” Flanagan and Shane Ross when they believed the chamber’s microphones were off.
In the exchanges, Wexford TD Wallace refers to Fine Gael Dublin TD Mary Mitchell O’Connor as “Miss Piggy”. Amid laughter, Ross then comments on the “garish colours” he claims are usually worn by Ms Mitchell O’Connor — who gained notoriety after the election for accidentally driving her car along the plinth at the front of Leinster House.
In the exchange, Wallace says: “Miss Piggy has toned it down a bit today.”
After Ross asks who he means, Flanagan says: “That Mary Mitchell O’Connor one. I couldn’t remember her name on Vincent Browne.”
Ross replies: “Was she on with you?” to which Flanagan states: “The one who drove off the plinth. They’d want to ban her wearing pink.”
Ross then laughs, and concludes: “Oh yeah, that’s right, she’s nothing sensational... She normally wears the most garish colours.”
The offensive references to Ms Mitchell O’Connor came despite Wallace and Flanagan complaining that they face an Oireachtas move to raise the standards of dress in the chamber.
Wallace is famous for sporting combat trousers and open-necked polo shirts in the Dáil, while Flanagan is usually seen in jeans.
