THE ROW OVER speaking time in the Dáil is continuing to rumble on this week.

Last night, the Government pushed through changes to speaking rights that will see speaking time allocated to the Regional Independent TDs along with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael backbenchers. 

The creation of special speaking time for what will now be known as “Other Members’ Questions”, which can be used by members of the Regional Independents who are supporting Government, were voted through by the Dail’s Reform Committee on a margin of 10 votes to eight.

They are now expected to be ratified with a vote in the Dáil. 

This morning, the leaders of the five main Opposition parties agreed to collectively withdraw pairing arrangements with the Government - an informal agreement between TDs where a member of the opposition abstains from a vote if a deputy on the government side is not present to balance out their absence. 

The Opposition leaders said last night that “all options” are on the table in response to the Government.

So today, we’re asking: Do you support the Government’s changes to Dáil speaking rights?