Opposition parties are insisting that Independent TDs who back Government must not speak on their Dáil time, in a sign that the speaking rights row is set to reignite.
Government Chief Whip Mary Butler set a deadline of Wednesday for submissions from political parties about Dáil reform and speaking rights.
A proposal to give Michael Lowry’s Regional Independent Group (RIG) 10 minutes to speak on Opposition time caused uproar in the Dáil in January, and temporarily derailed the election of Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin as Taoiseach.
Opposition parties remain united over the issue in their submissions to the Chief Whip. They believe that Mr Lowry played a central role in the formation of the Government, has committed his support, and cannot be allowed to secure Opposition speaking rights, including time during Leaders’ Questions.
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In their submission to the Chief Whip, the Labour Party said that the Ceann Comhairle should now be explicitly granted the power to decide whether a member is in Opposition, for the basis of forming technical groups, “based on their judgment and the evidence of the actions of the members and their role in Government formation or supporting Government”.
“That would involve assessing public statements, participation in Government formation talks, positions on key votes of confidence or the election of the Taoiseach or appointment of Ministers. It should be a matter of judgment for the Ceann Comhairle to apply the ‘Duck test’ for this purpose – if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.
“Otherwise, Opposition time and resources will be allocated to groups and members who are in effect Government supporters, undermining Opposition rights and the set pieces of the Dáil available for holding the Government to account.”
A spokesman for Sinn Féin confirmed that they remain of the same viewpoint that Independent TDs who back the Government cannot speak from Opposition time.
In their submission, People Before Profit said that all members of the Dáil must be facilitated to speak, including Independents who are aligned with the Government, but “this speaking time should come from Government allocated time in a similar manner to which a minority party in Government is facilitated”.
The Social Democrats, in their submission, have separately proposed the introduction of new requirements for public representatives in relation to financial disclosures.
Under their proposed changes, TDs would be forced to disclose any significant liabilities, such as aggregate borrowings greater than €500,000 from any given lender.
“While members currently declare sources of alternative income exceeding €2,600 and share and land holdings above the value of €13,000, they are not required to disclose the level of income they receive. This level of transparency is surface level at best. It is an indication that a potential conflict of interest exists, however the significance of that potential conflict is unknown. Public representatives should be required to disclose detail of all significant income, share and land holdings,” the party said.
Sinn Féin, in their submission, are calling for a dedicated Irish unity week. This would comprise a weeklong dedicated Dáil sitting on the North which could be scheduled annually at the beginning of September, including a debate on the preparation for Irish unity, progress on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and on the Shared Island Initiative.
This could see Northern MPs, Northern Ireland Assembly members and Executive Ministers invited to join TDs, Senators, and MEPS, to take part in proceedings in the Dáil chamber.
The party is also proposing an annual invitation for the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Stormont to address a Dáil plenary meeting upon being elected to their roles.
