TDs give themselves a week off just one month into term

TDs have agreed to give themselves a week’s holidays just one month after coming back after their nine-week summer break.

The Dail is now scheduled to rise on Thursday, October 27, and not return until Tuesday, November 8, it was confirmed yesterday.

The matter is to be formally agreed by the Dáil’s new Business Committee tomorrow, but Government Chief Whip Regina Doherty has confirmed the break is occurring.

It is understood Ms Doherty had sought not to have a break in sitting times to ensure the end of term would occur in mid-December.

A Government spokesman said the original intention was to proceed without a break, but following a meeting of the committee, the break is now occurring.

The matter was discussed by the Business Committee last week and was demanded by members of the opposition that a week’s break takes place.

At the committee’s meeting tomorrow, Fianna Fáil whip Michael Moynihan is expected to raise the taking of a break so soon after the Dáil returned. It is understood the decision to call for the break has led to some annoyance within Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

“This is the sort of thing people will go mad at us for. It looks like we are looking after ourselves,” one committee member said.

However, other committee members insist there will be no loss of sitting days. “It was decided to reschedule two or three sitting days and we are now going later into December. But it was non-contentious decision,” said FG’s Jim Daly.

On foot of the break, it appears the Dáil will sit right up until December 21.

During the summer, TDs broke for more than nine weeks to allow for a €700,000 upgrade that allows the public to hear TDs better. The 158 TDs got an extra-long summer break, from July 21 until September 27.

The decision to break comes amid mounting criticism of the lack of legislation coming through the Oireachtas since the Government was formed.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin criticised the “do-nothing Dáil” after just nine pieces of legislation were commenced by the time the Dáil rose in the summer.