‘Heated debate and extremely strong words exchanged’

There was a tense giddiness around the corridors of Leinster House, with TDs terrified and excited in equal measure about what might happen next.

As politicians stood up to speak on the nomination for Taoiseach in the Dáil chamber yesterday afternoon, there was a glaring emptiness where the six Independent Alliance members should have been seated. Heads craned to the doors at back of the chamber while fingers bashed away on phones, clearly trying to get the latest update on the manic scramble happening just metres away.

The sticking point was bogs. It seemed that neither Fine Gael nor the Independent Alliance could find a way out of the mud, and instead were slinging it across the negotiation table at each other as the clock to a vote on Taoiseach ticked down.