Gerry Adams forgets Pat Rabbitte's name

An awkward moment for the Sinn Féin president in the Dáil earlier today as he's forced to ask 'what's Pat's name again?'

There was an awkward moment in the Dáil this afternoon when the Sinn Féin leader forgot the name of Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte.

Gerry Adams was criticising the government's 'Gateway' jobs scheme during Leaders' Questions, saying it was a way of "massaging" the Live Register figures.

Deputy Adams was heckled from the Government benches as he spoke - and had a blank moment when trying to react to comments from Minister Rabbitte.

Luckily his deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald was there to ride to his rescue.

The Sinn Féin leader said that the Gateway scheme, introduced in Budget 2013, forces unemployed people to carry out work for local authorities, with threats of cuts or suspension of welfare payments, even though it pays only a fraction of the minimum wage.

He termed it " exploitation of the long-term unemployed".

(H/T: thejournal.ie)