Senator: ‘Clown’ Kenny is urinating on the Seanad

Uproar greeted a Fianna Fáil senator’s tirade against Enda Kenny in which the Taoiseach was branded “a clown urinating on the Seanad”.

The outburst by Marc MacSharry provoked bitter exchanges in the upper house as Fine Gael senators rallied to Mr Kenny’s defence.

Taking exception to Mr Kenny’s attack on the Seanad for doing nothing to stop the excesses of the Celtic Tiger economy, Mr MacSharry launched an extraordinary attack on the Taoiseach.

“We see him clowning around Europe, it has to be said, acting like a clown, turning a circus ring of Government and the office of Taoiseach,” he said.

When Independent Senator Marie-Louise O’Donnell — a personal appointee of the Taoiseach — objected, Mr MacSharry said: “When somebody looks like a clown, talks like a clown, performs like a clown and insists on making Government a circus ring, they are a clown.”

Mr MacSharry then accused the Taoiseach of taking credit for Fianna Fáil policies. “And how dare he clown around Europe accepting [late finance minister] Brian Lenihan’s accolade’s for putting this country back on the road to recovery. And he comes in on radio, on television and says that it is the Seanad that caused the economic crisis. Has anyone in the Taoiseach’s office got a brain?”

Mr MacSharry also stated that Fine Gael senators had been too soft on the Taoiseach and “allowed him urinate on this House”.

Fine Gael senator Imelda Henry accused Mr MacSharry of damaging the image of the Seanad.

“The session turned into a complete farce when Marc MacSharry lost his temper and displayed his utter contempt for the chamber. His outburst has done himself and his colleagues a complete disservice at a time when the people are being asked to decide on the future of the Upper House.

“Senator MacSharry has done nothing to bolster the argument for retention of the Seanad and his comments, while deeply personal, were insulting and utterly misplaced. I am asking him to withdraw his remarks without delay.”