One more day to go to the summer recess but the last day for Simon Harris and Mary Lou McDonald at Leaders’ Questions.
Business kicks off bright and early on Wednesday mornings with a short prayer and 30 seconds of silent reflection for the benefit of a barely-there attendance.
“Direct we beseech thee O Lord, our actions by Thy holy inspiration, and carry them on so that every word and work of ours may always begin from Thee and by Thee be happily ended.”
Which is not always the case in Dáil Éireann but, with no more chamber duty for them until the middle of September, a happy ending beckoned for the Taoiseach and the Sinn Féin leader.
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Harris and McDonald were still operating on Tuesday time when the Ceann Comhairle swept in at midday for Leaders’ Questions. The two leaders, institutionalised after months of Dáil sessions, immediately stood in anticipation of the worshipful words.
And Seán Ó Fearghaíl (also in pre-recess good spirits) got straight down to business, calling the next item and Mary Lou, as TDs stood up and sat down and half stood up again, with a knowing chuckle.
“I think everyone was expecting a prayer,” said Mary Lou. “We’ve all become very holy, Ceann Comhairle.”
“Well we can do one, if you want,” he offered.
“Whatever you think yourself,” she replied.
Michael Healy-Rae got to his feet. “We might need a prayer.”
“I would rather not,” groaned Richard Boyd Barrett.
Just the one prayer?
“I think entire rosaries and novenas would probably be more in our line,” sighed Mary Lou.
“Maybe a Hail Mary?” ventured Ó Fearghaíl.
Now you’re talking.
“Absolutely!” she said. “That would be nice.”
But they didn’t have a public prayer in the end because that was done a few hours earlier. That’s not to say there weren’t some silent ones said for the safe return to Ireland of Tori Towey, the Roscommon woman unbelievably detained on criminal charges in Dubai for attempting to end her life.
This monstrous and vulgar regime, which sees nothing wrong with accommodating fugitive Irish drug overlords in their gilded, murder-plated hide-outs but forces a distressed and broken young Irishwoman to go back home with her vicious husband when she turns to the police for help, deserves nothing but our contempt.
That they would then try to criminalise her for being a complaining wife, throw her in a prison cell with 50 other women before releasing her on bail and banning her from leaving the state, is the stuff of nightmares.
For the second day in a row, the Sinn Féin leader brought Tori Towey’s wretched plight to the floor of the Dáil.
It was lost on nobody that this time, Leaders’ Questions took place after the House had just finished a two-hour debate on a Social Democrats motion on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
Deputy McDonald outlined the shocking details of what happened to the Emirates flight attendant. Powerfully and passionately, she denounced the appalling action of this pretend progressive United Arab Emirates (UAE) state, urging the Taoiseach to ensure the Government would do everything in its power to get her home.
“This is an Irish woman, this is an Irish citizen, and the message must go out loudly and clearly that we will not allow any Irish citizen to be treated in this way by anybody. And that we will confront this medieval, grotesque treatment of women,” she said.
“Because women are not chattel; we do not belong to men. Men do not own us. Tori Towey does not belong to her husband. She does not belong to Dubai. She belongs at home in Ireland. We will not rest until she is at home.”
Chilling words, hard to believe, particularly for the women listening in the chamber.
The first line of the Taoiseach’s reply was the right one. Simon Harris spoke for the nation when he said simply: “I agree with every single word you said on this issue, deputy McDonald.”
It was important, in this “really distressing case” for everybody around the world, not least in Dubai and the UAE, to know that Irish politicians were “speaking with one voice” on this issue in the national parliament. But “everybody around the world” was already beginning to learn about the horrendous injustice done to Tori Towey because news organisations around the globe were running the story.
Pity all those countless unfortunate women who don’t have first-world politicians, a media-literate democratic parliament and a courageous international campaign group called Detained in Dubai to argue for them.
Naturally, image-conscious, super-rich Dubai, with a five-star luxury destination reputation to maintain over its five-star human rights abuse record, would have picked up on this gathering story too. And then quickly picked up a few buckets of expensive whitewash to try to paint over this latest human rights abomination, which is what they always do.
The Taoiseach, meanwhile, said he couldn’t say too much, for obvious reasons, but that his Government and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, along with Ireland’s ambassador to the UAE and her team, were working extremely hard in this time-critical case to have the travel ban lifted and Tori back in Ireland as soon as possible.
Then the day-to-day business continued with the rest of Leaders’ Questions and on to questions on policy and promised legislation. As the never-ending issue of waiting lists for children with scoliosis and spina bifida needing spinal surgery came up for discussion, Simon Harris asked to make a brief announcement before he dealt with it.
“With the indulgence of the House, can I get you just an update on Tori Towey which I’ve just received in real time?”
Sharp intakes of breath all round.
“I’ve just been informed that the travel ban has been lifted. That the Embassy will take Tori to the airport as soon as she is ready to go and that the embassy, of course, will continue to follow up on the case, which is still active as of now.
“But, em, I just want to inform the House of that and to thank our Embassy for their work in relation to that.”
Mary Lou exhaled a grateful “thanks”.
“Well done,” beamed the Ceann Comhairle.
A heavy weight began lifting from heavy hearts. Those prayers had been answered after all.
But it still wasn’t clear when the 29-year-old Roscommon woman would arrive back, nor was it clear whether she would continue to face charges.
It wasn’t long before an official statement, the finer details of which require a large pinch of salt, emerged from the Dubai Government at teatime. It had closed the case and dropped the charges of attempted suicide “considering the circumstances of the case”.
Which was nice of them.
The Emiratis – a great bunch of lads.
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