WE KNOW THAT Richard Boyd Barrett is an impassioned speaker.

In fact, one might say the decibel level of the People Before Profit TD increases in direct proportion to his passion in the course of making a speech.

Would this be the motivation for Children and Youth Affairs Minister James Reilly reaching for his headphones during RBB’s speech against the Budget 2015 statement today?

Now, he could be looking to listen to an Irish translation of the speech, as is available to each TD. Or he might not be. Judge for yourself:

What’s that, Minister Reilly?

Earlier in the Opposition speeches, Fianna Fáil’s Micheál Martin claimed that the Government was showing “unprecedented disrespect” to Opposition speakers as there was not a minister nor junior minister in the chamber.

And Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty complained about Taoiseach Enda Kenny mumbling throughout Doherty’s statement:

Mary Lou McDonald has just been turfed out of the Dáil>

All of the Budget 2015 stories you need to know>