'No deal whatsoever' made with Michael Lowry during government negotiations, says Taoiseach

Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman said: 'Everybody knows that for the RIG to have sleeper agents in Opposition, while still voting for the Government, will not be tolerated by the members of the Dáil.'

Independent TD Michael Lowry arrives at Leinster House. A Dáil Reform Committee has been established aimed at breaking the impasse, but which has not yet found a solution as to where speaking time for a technical group formed by Mr Lowry, Carol Nolan, Mattie McGrath and other regional TDs — Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole — will come from. File photo: Brian Lawless/PA

The government made "no deal" with Michael Lowry in relation to Dáil speaking rights when negotiating a programme for government, the Taoiseach has said.

The row over whether or not regional TDs who negotiated the programme but did not take up ministerial positions would speak from the opposition benches led to unprecedented scenes last week when the Dáil was adjourned before voting for Micheál Martin as Taoiseach.

Since then, a Dáil Reform Committee has been established aimed at breaking the impasse, but which has not yet found a solution as to where speaking time for a technical group formed by Mr Lowry, Carol Nolan, Mattie McGrath and other regional TDs — Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole — will come from.

Speaking in Roscommon on Tuesday, Mr Martin denied that he had made any agreement with the Tipperary North TD, but said that he was not aware that a technical group would be formed.

The Taoiseach said:

There was no deal whatsoever in that regard. We had no idea at the time that additionality was going to be added to the group who are not in government.

“We understood it was a process, last week prior to any disruption, that there would be a resolution [to the ongoing row].

“There was a mechanism more or less agreed. That was the Dáil Reform Business committee. It is still meeting. We're committed to a resolution of it. It's not as simple as has been articulated across the board."

Mr Martin said that the proposed arrangement would preclude him from speaking as part of the opposition when his party propped up a minority Fine Gael party through a confidence and supply arrangement between 2016 and 2020.

“It's interesting when people argue, for example, that anyone involved in negotiating the programme for government shouldn't get speaking time in the opposition, that would have ruled out confidence and supply. That would have ruled out the confidence and supply arrangement that Fianna Fáil had from 2016 to 2020.

“It is a bit more complex and we don’t want to do anything on the hoof that would impact in five years' time in terms of the rights or the need maybe for certain independents to support the government that would be short of seats. 

"We need to do this properly. We’re up for it and we do accept it needs resolution.” 

Green Party

Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman called on the Taoiseach to "exercise leadership" and “tell Michael Lowry that it is simply a political non-starter” for Regional Independent TDs signed up to every vote in Government to then form part of the Opposition.

“When it comes down to it, everybody knows that for the RIG to have sleeper agents in Opposition, while still voting for the Government, will not be tolerated by the members of the Dáil. There should be no fudge in Dáil Standing Orders which seeks to make this the new norm,” the Green Party Leader said.

“Only the Taoiseach can end this, by stating clearly to Michael Lowry that his group must form a Technical Group fully within Government time”.

Since the formation of the new Government, Mr O’Gorman has joined the Independents & Smaller Parties Technical Group in opposition.