‘WELCOME TO OUR new Taoiseach, Simon Harris’ was written in green, white and gold lettering on the Dáil canteen menu yesterday.
The election of the new Taoiseach began earlier than would be usual and hungry TDs, staffers and reporters lined up for food to sustain them through what was turning into a very long day.
The day of speeches – and there were a lot of them – included references to Star Wars, The Who and a slip by the Environment Minister Eamon Ryan when he said this government was only “warming up” on its climate change policies.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys achieved the biggest laugh of the day, when the Dáil erupted in laughter when she admitted she mistook the now Taoiseach, Simon Harris, for a member of a school tour in his early days as a TD.
When Humphreys first saw Harris in the Dail in 2011, she thought the “young lad” was on a tour or doing work experience in Leinster House.
Years after the “schoolboy error”, the Cavan TD was happy to propose the fresh-faced Fine Gael leader as Taoiseach.
As official proceedings got under way, sitting behind Harris in the gallery were his wife, Caoimhe and their two children Saoirse, five, and Cillian, two, as well as his brother, Adam and sister, Gemma, his parents Bart and Mary and his beloved nana.
The Ceann Comhairle formally welcomed the Harris family, with Cillian waving and clapping and shouting for his daddy several times.
The family sat through the praise that was lavished on Harris as well as the criticisms.
In the end, TDs voted 88 to 69 in support of Harris becoming Taoiseach.
There were swipes too at the opposition yesterday, with Humphreys eyeing up Eoin Ó Broin and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald in her speech.
She said Harris had shown that regardless of your background or where you come from, everyone deserves an equal opportunity in life.
“Unlike those who will shout loudest today, Simon Harris was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth,” she said, eyeing over at the Sinn Féin front-bench.
Humphreys appeared to be alluding to Ó Broin, who went to Blackrock College and McDonald, who attended private Notre Dame prep school.
Ó Broin and McDonald laughed it off, and McDonald mimicked removing a spoon from her mouth.
People Before Profit TD Mick Barry, who is fond of speaking about music in the Dáil from time-to-time, remarked on the song Harris chose as his theme song at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis in Galway this weekend.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”.
“It is a great song, but I can think of one or two other tunes from that decade that might be more appropriate.
“For example, I can think of The Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ from 1971. It might sum up the mood of the electorate a little better, and it does have the closing lyric ‘Meet the new boss / Same as the old boss’.
Harris saw the funny side and laughed.
While there were laughs, jokes and quips throughout the day, there was also boisterous back and forth between the government and opposition benches.
The Ceann Comhairle Sean Ó Fearghaíl had to tell the Healy Raes off a number of times, telling them to “behave yourselves” after they began interrupting Green Party leader Eamon Ryan as he spoke about climate change during his speech before the Dáil.
He also chastised TD Richard Boyd Barrett for calling yesterday’s pomp and ceremony a “jamboree”.
“It is not appropriate to describe the election of a Taoiseach as a jamboree. Let us have regard and respect for our Constitution and the role we play here. This is not, I assure the Deputy, a jamboree,” he said.
The Oxford Dictionary describes a jamboree as a “large party or celebration”.
While it was no doubt a celebration for some in the Dáil, it was no laughing matter for others.
McDonald said the Dail should go before the people and get a mandate, to which some Sinn Fein TDs shouted “more of the same”.
While Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the new Taoiseach’s “new energy” sounded like a Star Wars tagline.
TDs and Senators formed a line on the steps of the Leinster House entrance as Harris shook every outstretched hand before climbing into the Taoiseach’s car and making a swift exit to President Michael D Higgins’s official residence.
The Aras an Uachtarain offered a moment of calm among the hustle and bustle of the day.
As Higgins presented Harris with his Warrant of Appointment and Seal of Office, the Taoiseach looked to his family for a moment of reassurance.
Once the official proceedings ended, Harris stayed for some refreshments and spoke to Higgins and his wife, Sabina, for about half an hour.
Leaving the Aras, Harris shook the president’s hand and hugged Sabina before making his way back to Leinster House for the reshuffling of his Cabinet.
In the end, Harris played it safe, moving a couple up the political ladder yesterday, with more junior ministries to be doled out today.
The new Taoiseach rounded out the day by setting out his to-do list, which includes 26 promises. With just twelve months to get it all done, the clock starts now.
With reporting by Press Association
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