THERE WERE chaotic scenes in the Dáil yesterday morning over the absence of Taoiseach Brian Cowen following the resignation of five Cabinet Ministers.

The Opposition repeatedly demanded that Mr Cowen attend in the chamber and give a statement about a Cabinet reshuffle.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, who normally takes the Order of Business in the absence of the Taoiseach, insisted that under the Constitution the Ministers who resigned from Cabinet were not deemed to have done so until the President accepted their resignations. She insisted that when those matters were complied with, the Taoiseach would address the House.

Amid persistent heckling, intervention and uproar the session was suspended in confusion, first for 15 minutes and then again for almost two hours until Mr Cowen addressed the House at 1.30pm and re-assigned the five portfolios and further responsibility to current Ministers.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the situation was unprecedented “where almost half of the Cabinet has resigned” and “would not have happened even in the days of great dictators”. The Green Party was being treated with contempt, and the junior partner in Government needed to “stop tweeting” and “stand up to the mark”.

Mr Kenny said “we are in the last days of the worst Government in the history of the State”.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said the Constitution was very clear that the appointment of ministers had to be approved by the Dáil.

“We have a flu epidemic, we have people lying in hospitals on trolleys and the Minister for Health has taken to the hills. We have flights being cancelled in Aer Lingus and the Minister for Transport has resigned. We have problems for crime in many parts of the country, and the two Ministers responsible for Justice and Defence are gone,” he said.

Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked whether the Taoiseach had been “dangling” ministerial promotion in return for support with his vote of confidence motion. He said the people of the country “couldn’t believe that further strokes could yet be played” in advance of the election.

Ms Coughlan repeated that “Ministers remain until such time as the President has accepted those resignations and if and when these matters are complied with the Taoiseach of course will come to the House”.

Opposition leaders then demanded that the House be suspended until the Taoiseach came into the House and addressed the issue. When the Ceann Comhairle said he did not have power to suspend the House unless there was disorder, the Opposition erupted.

The House was then suspended for 15 minutes.

Following further heckling, Ms Coughlan asked the Ceann Comhairle to suspend the House for a second time until 1.30pm.