Mick Clifford: A farcical day in the Dáil as Taoiseach vote descends into disorder

In a day of chaos and farce, the Dáil failed to elect a Taoiseach, tarnishing its democratic reputation

Opposition TDs arguing their point in the Dáil. They were not prepared to tolerate the prospective government’s plan to adjourn for two weeks while an issue is outstanding about some deputies in the Regional Independent group being allowed to sit in both government and opposition. Picture: Flickr Houses of Oireachtas

Once upon a long ago, WB Yeats declared in an Irish institution, the Abbey Theatre, “You have disgraced yourselves again.” 

He might have been just the man to stride across the floor of the Dáil yesterday, admonishing the tribunes of the people who failed to elect a taoiseach.

At around 4.30pm, following a day of stop-starts, Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy called on Albert Dolan to nominate Micheál Martin to lead the country.

As the young Galway East TD got to his feet, so too did about 50 deputies from the opposition benches in howls of protest.

Ms Murphy, enduring a torrid debut which called her competency into question, gave up and suspended the House until this morning. This is page one stuff in the democracy handbook, yet our assembly suddenly fractured into the kind of division that is now a feature of parliaments elsewhere.

Micheál Martin and Simon Harris had corralled enough votes for taoiseach, and then some.

Among the ranks of their respective parties were deputies tight with hope that their name might come out of the lucky bag later in the day, when ministers were to be appointed.

Mr Martin’s family were in the Distinguished Visitors’ Gallery, making up for the last occasion he was elected taoiseach, when they couldn’t travel due to covid restrictions. This was supposed to be a coronation, a rare day of acknowledgement for a person who had reached the apex of his trade.

Instead, it descended from chaos into farce.

The opposition was not prepared to tolerate the prospective government’s plan to adjourn for two weeks, particularly while an issue is outstanding about some deputies in the Regional Independent group effectively being allowed to sit in both government and opposition.

Micheál Martin’s family were in the Distinguished Visitors’ Gallery, making up for the last occasion he was elected taoiseach, when they couldn’t travel due to covid restrictions. Picture: Flickr Houses of Oireachtas

No agreement was reached prior to yesterday on these matters, so an ambush of sorts ensued. Ms Murphy lost control, as the opposition were determined not to back down.

There is plenty of blame to go around.

When Ms Murphy finally called for nominations for taoiseach, the reaction from the opposition was out of order. Irrespective of a failure to agree forthcoming business, the taoiseach should have been elected.

Mr Martin characterised what happened as “a subversion of the Constitution”.

Yet he and Mr Harris reached low in how they attached the Regional Independents to the government, particularly in supporting the daft notion of some of the Regional deputies getting opposition speaking time.

It would appear the two leaders felt that, in this respect, their election victory entitled them to do whatever they wanted.

The opposition said the Government was “incredibly arrogant” in how it went about its business.

Ms Murphy emerged from the day with a tarnished reputation. She looked to be out of her depth, unable to assert her authority.

She will have to kick into gear literally overnight or her future might be up in the air.

Today, they return to do it all again and, at a time when democracy is living dangerously in some parts of the world, it will be incumbent on all to get on with the job.