Irish Examiner view: Dáil speaking rights row is but a distraction 

The speaking slots row may be unedifying and unnecessary, but right now it may be offering valuable cover to a few practitioners grateful for the distraction

Ceann comhairle Verona Murphy must also be wishing the spotlight would move on from the Dáil chamber. The first day the house met, she appeared to lose control of proceedings, while her handling of the ‘ag insint bréaga’ controversy was also underwhelming and highlighted her lack of Irish. Picture: Maxwells/PA

On and on it goes, the row in Leinster House about speaking slots. Dancing on the head of a procedural pin is surely of limited appeal to the general public, consumed as they are by a host of far more pressing concerns, such as housing and crime.

The 30-second version of the row is unlikely to get anyone’s blood boiling. The Government allocating high-profile speaking slots to Independent TDs supporting it on one hand, the opposition taking umbrage at that allocation on the other.