THE 34TH DÁIL looks set to make history – but for all the wrong reasons. The government wants to treat its own backbenchers as if they were members of the opposition – and create new Dáil speaking slots as part of this subterfuge.

This is the first time in the history of the State this has happened, and it has hugely concerning ramifications.

To keep the third leg of this coalition — the Lowry Independents — on side, the government is intent on taking a wrecking ball to democratic norms and diluting opposition oversight.

‘Having their cake’

From the start, the Lowry Independents wanted to have their cake and eat it too by masquerading as members of the opposition while publicly supporting the government. In a worrying sign of how it intends to operate during its term, the government was happy to facilitate this brazen political stroke as its very first act.

Last month, when the Ceann Comhairle ruled that Lowry Independents could not be viewed as members of the opposition, a different plot was hatched. The government is now claiming Lowry Independents are neither government nor opposition TDs, but some new hybrid. As a result, they are trying to create new Dáil speaking slots for them – which, coincidently, exactly mirror the speaking rights of opposition leaders.

What has transpired is not just an embarrassing capitulation by the larger coalition partners, it is a shameful abdication of democratic principles. With Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael tying themselves up in knots to facilitate Micheal Lowry and his band of Independents, the question must be – why? What kind of leverage is Lowry exerting over the larger parties to make them bend to his every demand?

Political calm needed

It didn’t have to be like this. In February, when the Ceann Comhairle pointed out the blindingly obvious – that the Lowry Group are not members of the opposition – the government could have faced up to that reality. The government has ample speaking time in which all its TDs have opportunities to speak and ask questions. Lowry’s Group could have easily been facilitated within that government time.

Better again, the government could have cut ties with Michael Lowry and ejected him back to the opposition benches. It already has a comfortable majority, so it doesn’t need to be propped up by a TD the Moriarty Tribunal said exerted ‘insidious and pervasive influence’ on significant issues it investigated.

The government has tried to spin this controversy as the opposition being childish and throwing its toys out of the pram because of relatively brief speaking rights in the Dáil. However, this is not a trivial matter. It goes to the heart of our democracy.

We know this country faces enormous challenges on many fronts – in areas such as housing, healthcare, disability services, childcare and climate change. It is more important than ever for the opposition to be able to hold the government to account. Blurring the lines between government and opposition, and limiting the ability of the opposition to hold government to account, is an alarming development and sets a dangerous precedent.

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In the first weeks of the new Dáil, the Social Democrats have continued to highlight the issues that matter most: the shameful waiting lists for Assessments of Need; the lack of special education classes for children with autism; the failure of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to deliver the 40,000 homes they over-promised last year; and the ongoing tragedy of child homelessness.

Does anyone seriously think the Lowry Independents, who have done a deal to keep this government in power, will hold it to account in the same way?

The government’s proposed Frankenstein creation will lead to a de facto Leaders’ Questions slot in everything but a name for the benefit of Regional Independent TDs and government backbenchers. If it passes a Dáil vote – where the government will have a clear majority – it will represent a serious setback for democracy and a victory for cronyism and stroke politics.

The opposition parties remain as united as ever in their rejection of this attempt to subvert the workings of the Dáil. However, it’s not too late for the government to pull back from the brink, abandon its undemocratic plans and sit down with the opposition to find a compromise solution that works for everyone.

Cian O’Callaghan is acting leader of the Social Democrats and a TD for Dublin Bay North.