Paul Hosford: Fur coats and no knickers as Dáil returns

On Mr Varadkar's first day back as Taoiseach in the Dáil chamber, the arguments may have felt somewhat similar — pressure from Sinn Féin, ideoligical argument with Mr Boyd Barrett, and pressure on the health service — but it will be up to the Government to prove it's got its undergarments under its (faux) fur coat in the coming months. Picture: Brian Lawless

Fur coat and no knickers.

When you watch the proceedings of the Oireachtas regularly, there are some phrases that stand out from the normally reserved debates.

It didn't take long for this Dáil term to deliver in that respect. After a Leaders' Questions largely dominated by Leo Varadkar's defense of his Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe (who in common with former junior minister Damien English, was not in the chamber), the People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach about the possibility of a wealth tax on those who have over €4.7m in assets.

He was referencing this week's Oxfam report, which says that the number of super-rich in Ireland has more than doubled in the last decade. 

With the Taoiseach headed to the annual meeting of the super-rich in Davos after the session, it was a timely question. Mr Boyd Barrett said that such a wealth tax could generate some €8bn in additional taxes, nothing to be sniffed at. Mr Varadkar, asked questions about Oxfam's methodology:

We all know from past experience that some people who are billionaires on paper, or appear to be billionaires, are actually all fur coat and no knickers.

If you were wondering, it's not the first time the phrase has been used in the Oireachtas — Brendan Howlin used a more polite "fur coat and no underwear" when talking about the Defence Forces in November 2021, and Senator David Norris used the phrase about Viscount Castlereagh in a 2013 Seanad debate, after Senator Terry Leyden had likened the nobleman's appearance to then junior minister Brian Hayes in a fairly odd series of exchanges.

Referencing his trip to Davos and the instalment of the summit's organisers the World Economic Forum (WEF) as the bete noir of some conspiracy theorists inclined to believe there is a push for a world government, the Taoiseach looked directly at independent TD Mattie McGrath as he said that if the pricey get-together was really a decision-making shop for the world's elites, he would spend longer than a day and a half at it.

Mr McGrath would later push for Dáil statements to be made on the Taoiseach's trip as is done for various EU engagements, saying that WEF founder and chair Klaus Schwab has said the meeting had "penetrated many Cabinets around the world", presumably meaning governments and not those of the Ikea variety. 

When the Ceann Comhairle suggested the Tipperary TD visit himself to see what happens in Davos, Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy suggested he could push for it to be held in Tipperary, while Denis Naughten said there'd be a whip round for the flight.

Health system failure 

But while the first Dáil sitting in 32 days had its moments of levity, Mr Naughten raised a sobering story. 

At the start of this year, he said, 76-year-old Mary Hughes was in Roscommon hospital and was transferred to Portiuncula after suffering a seizure. Mary passed away on January 4th at Portiuncula hospital after waiting more than seven hours for a bed before finally being admitted to a ward.

"Mary had been forced to leave a bed in Roscommon hospital to go onto a trolley in Portiuncula hospital."

Mr Varadkar said that he was sorry to hear about Ms Hughes' case and made a fleeting defence of the health service, which had been roundly criticised at an Oireachtas Health Committee a day earlier, and continues to have over 400 people on trolleys. 

There are more beds than this time last year, but Mr Naughten pointed out that 10 additional beds won't be available in Roscommon until the summer.

On Mr Varadkar's first day back as Taoiseach in the Dáil chamber, the arguments may have felt somewhat similar — pressure from Sinn Féin, ideoligical argument with Mr Boyd Barrett, and pressure on the health service — but it will be up to the Government to prove it's got its undergarments under its (faux) fur coat in the coming months.