Sarah Carey: Government must rein in Dáil speaking rights, but be wary of a wounded Lowry

One of the biggest mistakes we make in Ireland is to confuse who is saying something with what is being said. National treasures and do-gooders get away with any old nonsense unchallenged, while conservatives and controversialists are ignored, even if they’re making a good point. My rule is that good people aren’t always right and bad people aren’t always wrong.

In the case of Michael Lowry and speaking rights, there has been far too much focus on the just deserts for those involved, and not enough on what actually happened. The stroke-too-far school of analysis is satisfactory up to a certain point, but the row raises three issues that won’t go away easily..