18 hours Ago
THE LEADERS OF the five main Opposition parties met this morning and agreed to collectively withdraw pairing arrangements with the Government. The move comes in response to the Government pushing The changes were won at a meeting of the Dáil Reform Committee last night and are now expected to be ratified with a vote in the Dáil. The earliest this vote can happen is understood to be after St Patrick’s Day.
Pairing arrangements are an informal agreement between TDs whereby if a TD is not present to vote in the Dáil, they can enter a pairing arrangement with a TD from an opposing party who agrees not to vote and so These agreements generally only cover short-term absences, but have been implemented in the case of maternity leave in recent years, which has evoked criticism. At last night’s meeting of the Dáil Reform Committee, Government TDs won a vote to create special speaking time for what will now be known as “Other Members’ Questions”. This slot can now be used by members of the Regional Independents who are supporting Government.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the actions of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were “dangerous, unprecedented, and a clear attempt to turn logic and the rules and functions of the Dáil on their head”. She said the Government has “gone back on their word” and “unilaterally moved to force through propositions that make a mockery of any notion of accountability in the Dáil”. The Sinn Féin leader added: “They’ve gone to no end of trouble to accommodate Michael Lowry and his group of independents to pretend that you can be in Government and Opposition at the same time.
” The issue is expected to be raised again today during Leaders’ Questions. The Opposition leaders have reiterated that they are united in their opposition to this and have said “all options” are on the table in response..
