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THE SEANAD WAS reduced to shouting and pleading this afternoon after one Senator told another to get “treatment for haemorrhoids”.
Senators Rónán Mullen and Fidelma Healy-Eames were speaking about RTÉ’s coverage of the abortion debate when an insult by Mullen was objected to by Senator David Norris.
Uproar ensued.
Mullen was commenting about yesterday’s BAI ruling that a broadcast of the Ray D’Arcy Show featuring Amnesty International’s Colm O’Gorman breached rules for “fairness, impartiality and objectivity”.
Ivana Bacik / TwitterLanguage used in #Seanad today was truly shocking - insults used to intimidate #repealthe8th supporters @mairiac31 @UrsulaNiChoill
— Ivana Bacik (@ivanabacik) December 10, 2015
Mullen claimed that Labour members are being hypocritical for seeking to have religion removed from State-funded schools but not seeking a balanced debate on the State-funded broadcaster.
If you only object to bias when it upsets yourselves and your point of you, then you’re no real democrat. You go on like harpies everytime somebody calls for simple fairness.
Norris objected to Mullen’s use of the term ‘harpies’ and it began three-way shouting match involving the pair and Healy-Eames.
Cathaoirleach Paddy Burke attempted to maintain order before Healy-Eames accused Senator Ivana Bacik of trying to “stop the debate”.
Senator Jim Walsh then rose, saying he had a point of order:
On a point of order, can somebody please give Senator Bacik some treatment for haemorrhoids.
It was met with an angry reaction from the chamber with Norris attempting to have Burke rebuke Walsh’s his statement.
Mullen, meanwhile, pleaded to be able to finish his “concluding two sentences”.
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Soooooooo glad we kept the Seanad.
We were promised immediate reform which never came
Politicians aren’t that big on reform
They make the journal comment section look like a bastion of wisdom, knowledge, courtesy and rationale debate. Seriously.
Just shut it down for Christmas. Tell them to go home. They’re an embarrassment to Politics and Society.
Nothing more then an attempt by the usual suspects to take the attention away from the voting down by the Government of the anti corruption bill last night. Ironically two days later then Government Councillors are seen on national television taking bribes and acting in a completely corrupt manner.
Not sure you understand what ‘government’ is.
the group of people with the authority to govern a country or state
Sen Mullen is in the wrong place, better suited to Craggy Island.
A few decades the wrong side of the 16th century as well…
Alien8,
I’d say the 16th century is already far to advanced for Mullen, after all it was the century of the Renaissance and the start of the Enlightenment, Mullen is stuck in the dark ages, when the Church ruled freely and could burn anyone who objected to it.
Mullen is no ordinary idiot….he’s a real idiot
I doubt if ivana is the first person to develop a pain in her ar$e listening to bull in the Seanad
She spouts enough of it.
She is a leach. Told twice by the electorate that she is not wanted and then the great labour party ignore the electorate and make her there Senate leader.Nice money when your in the know….
The day of the Labour party having power are coming to an end thank God or is that a politically correct thing to state.
Nonetheless, it is incumbent on all right thinking folk to defend Ivana’s arse to the best of our ability. Who’s with me? :-D
Emyln Grant – LEECH. THEIR Senate leader. YOU ARE in the know. Let’s pretend we are literate.
Sorry Rita. My anger took over..
Jim Walsh, living proof of the Theory on Empty Vessels is on a run today. First holocausts and now piles! How , in the name of logic and reason , is that idiot allowed a platform? He is an absolute and utter idiot and not shy about it for some reason.
Indeed. I presume he’s just kept on for entertainment value. he and Mullen clearly believe Ireland is a Theocracy.
I must say there are some one can short of a six pack politicians in the dail but the seanad just seems so much worse when you consider it’s size. We need a vote on seanad candidates, I don’t want my taxpayers money going toward ronan mullen & this crazy fianna fail lad who compares abortion to the Holocaust. Then there’s dissident mairia Cahill & the wiffy code Senator. It’s a joke and they all know it
The hilarious thing about it is that the people who elect these idiots have to have an honours degree from University to do so in most cases because it was assumed that the intelligentsia would elect learned and knowledgeable people to be Senators. This stops me from voting for them however my father can seeing as he graduated years ago and always likes to throw play the “Honours Degree” card at my inability to voted for the learned class.
Can’t wait to show him this clip and show him that a little piece of paper might show that you can pass a test but it doesn’t stop you acting like a fool.
Sorry only 6 are elected by universities. The rest are appointed by enda kenny or voted on by politicians. 90% of the loopers come from appointments and other political hacks. In fact some of the sane senators have come from university votes
True, but the NUI electors have to take their lumps and accept blame for Mullen.
And we pay them for this Joke
To be honest, I’m more concerned with the shite that comes out of these fools mouths then the shite that comes out there arses.
Still happy ye kept the Seanad??
I’m happy a rejected it’s abolition under the premise that enda kenny said he will accept reform, which he didn’t. Time to vote out the liars and elect a gov that will reform the seanad so it can finally serve it’s function
The best reform would have been to scrap it altogether.
It’s mad to think that they’re on big money to be there. Actually, there’s meant to be 60 senators. I presume the others get paid too.
A reformed seanad can be very effective in holding the dail to acvount. If the last 5 years are anything to go by we will need them in the future
Half the faces in the seaned actually look like heammorroides
The right wingers are kicking off in style , and the world was peaceful while they locked their big fulminating sores after the marriage referendum
How many times has Ivana ran for the Dail? It must be a right pain in the *** losing every time. Hmm
They are like a bunch of drunken fools around closing time arguing over nothing in particular, having nothing in particular to say but shouting over each other to say it.
I voted to keep it under the naive belief that we would see reform and allow adults to get elected. Unfortunately we still have a bunch of pre schoolers arguing about who forgot to pick up who.
I hope this will give pause to those who voted for retention of this Seanad. A rest home for unelectables, lunatics and party hacks.
Under fine gael yea. We were promised reform so let’s vote in a party who will bring it
Utter wasters of good oxygen……….tired of seeing their antics day after day
That was below the belt.
Jesus wept! You couldn’t make this shįt up. What hope is there for the country with this lot of clowns pulling the strings?
This won’t sit well with the public, there’s a pile of work to get through and all they talk about is assteroids.
There’s a pile of work to get through, in the seanad? Good one
A bunch of sour grapes is all they are.
Ronan Mullen is like that geeky kid you sat next to in Primary school who constantly had his hand up in the air.
Yeah, to tell the teacher when someone was talking.
I doubt very much it was to answer a question. That would indicate intelligence.
Between the liberal and conservative ideologues in the Seanad, I’m left wondering is there anybody in there who actually has the perspective of the vast majority of the people in this country. Anyone want to chance the name of a Senator who comes close?
James Heffernan maybe? Everyone has an ideology of some sort it’s how tribal they are with such an ideology that decides how open they are.
There is Andrew, they never show up, collect their maximum expenses , keep their head down and mouth shut…
Hardly
I’m sorry but the few good senators in the seanad are being unfairly attacked via this generalisation
I bet Maria Cahill regrets she ever agreed to join this motley crew. The peace and normality of Belfast must look very attractive now..
I bet labour regret asking a known dissident republican to join their party for the sole purpose of attacking Sinn fein.
I think the chairperson should be able to use any language necessary without issue, like “sit the f**k down, shut the f**k up” and other such phrases.
He has the power to kick deputies from the house. You don’t need a 2ider vocabulary
Wider* where did that 2 come from?
hilarious :D
Priceless! She’s an awful specimen I’d say there’s a line of people who’ve been waiting to say something similar to her.
Nasty
Don’t get childish, Oisin!!
David Norris’ faux outrage is horsesh.t. This is the same guy who went on an apoplectic rant about “Enda bloody Kenny “?? As for Bacik, her sense of supreme entitlement could be bottled its that dripping that thick from her sanctimonious lips. At least Walsh had a sense if humour about this in his clearly tongue in cheek comment.
David Norris.
The Master of operatic indignation.
An embarrassment to Irish political life.
Is this part on FG new free GP on the spot diagnoses thing.
Bacik and Mullen are two sides of the sane coin….
Jesus Walsh is some useless eejit.
Jobs for the boys and girls
Yes an we had a chance to get rid of them all. Ah no we had to vote to keep it so again no 1 to blame only ourselves.
Remind me please how much is the payers paying for this circus again.
Life is precious. If politicians have the guts to stand up and be counted so be it. The terminology may be regrettable and inappropriate but the thinking and beliefs are to be welcomed
Well done everybody. Senators are supposed to be wise but some of them seem to think that means “Act like Ernie Wise.”
Healy-Eames accused Senator Ivana Bacik of trying to “stop the debate”. I agree Ivana is always doing that.
They actually acted like elected TDs
Why oh why did we not abolish this superannuated talking shop? Right wing ideologues on one hand, and utter contempt for the electorate by Labour on the other by adding ex dissident M Cahill to the less than inspiring duo of Lorraine Higgins and Ivana Bacik. Even makes the Dail look like a hotbed of intellectualism.
What a bufoon Norris is
Ah Ronan Mullen. The special adviser to to the arch diocese and Desmond Connell in Dublin when they publicly denied child sexual abuse covers ups and now he is in the Senate pontificating on the protection of children. You couldn’t make this loon up and nor would you want to. As is always the case with this crowd, the babies are only important before they are born. After that, it’s none of their concern.
The rest of us has Joan and Enda to suffer with, he is lucky lol.
I was one of the few that voted to get rid of this retirement home home for failures ,and nothing has changed my mind .A useless bunch the few that show up that is spouting hot air ,Reform ? Ha, reform it with a bulldozer and knock it down ,Waste of money ,
Go Sheen!
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