LAST UPDATE | 23 Jan

OH, WHAT A circus! Oh, what a show! If it was entertainment we wanted then the Dáil chamber was providing it yesterday. Not the high quality intellectually driven entertainment but the more slapstick predictable comedy that acts as a good gap filler or background to your evening.

So, what caused all this mayhem? What was the issue that finally seems to have broken our politicians’ limits of endurance? Dáil Speaking time.

Now while us nerds might enjoy the details of such matters and the technical importance of such debate for many people the truth is they cannot remember a single good comment, quip, or impactful statement from a recent Dáil. That’s not to say they didn’t happen, but don’t ask people to quote them or remember them because it’s not like Dáil speaking time has demonstrated masters of the art. So please forgive people if they are a bit confused.

‘Soul of democracy’

The whole shambles is now being raised to the heights of a battle for the soul of democracy. In truth, it’s no more than a grubby little turf war in a schoolyard. Let’s start with our incoming government. The problem here is that they want the support of Independents. These independents know they really don’t have much of a voice (that’s the bit they don’t tell you on the doorstep), so they form a technical group.

Cross party opposition figures after the Dáil row.

This is not a party, but a way to get speaking time. Now the Independents do their own thing individually and agree to support a government, but some of them still want to be able to say their own thing and maybe criticise the government. So, they want some of the Opposition’s speaking time to do that. Bored yet?

There is no doubting this is a ridiculous situation. A one where people really need to be told to put on their big boy and girl pants and get on with the job of governing that they say they support. We all have children that at some point we must tell, ‘you can’t have it every way.’ Life is tough, make decisions and stand by them. What is almost worse though is that the government, with all its advisers and experienced people, seemed completely blindsided by this.

Even though it was obviously an agreed opposition strategy, this argument was entirely predictable and the inability of the wider government team to manage it suggested either incredible foolhardiness or a massive drop ball on their part. Neither is a good look, and suggests more than a touch of complacency in how they are approaching this term.

Verona Murphy, the new Ceann Comhairle. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Then we are on to the new Ceann Comhairle. Verona Murphy certainly had a baptism of fire, but always be careful what you wish for. As someone who was known for some sweeping statements about other individuals and organisations while she was on Oireachtas Committees in the past, she was now left looking like a kid who was flung into the deep end of the swimming pool with no armbands and had no idea how to get out of this mess.

What to do about the Independents

Then to top it all off, we have the actions of the opposition. They had a point. They had many ways to make that point. This stuff is meant to be handled in subcommittees and agreed upon, but it seems that was never in the cards. They could have held things up for an hour or so, they could have got weeks out of making a mockery of the situation. They could have dived on the first waste of time speech by a government supporting Independents. They had a chance for acres of PR that would spin for weeks about a ludicrous government and its tactics. Instead, they quite obviously agreed that they would prevent the vote for the formation of a government. Make no mistake, that elevates it beyond a row and into world news.

In reality though what the opposition was doing was more akin to Tom, in the Tom and Jerry cartoon, racing around with a sledgehammer smashing up the house to try to catch a mouse. In the end, like the hapless Tom, they may have ended up giving themselves just as many bumps. This looked petulant, childish,and immensely immature. It might have been organised but looked more like a student union attempt than anything with any kind of strategic objective beyond the end of the day. Worse still, this is a genie that is hard to put back in the bottle. For the opposition, they may see particular technicalities about what they did.

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To the public, it appears pretty simple. If the opposition can create enough mayhem, they can stop the Dáil voting on important issues. If they create enough of an organised storm, they can bring a halt to any proceeding. They will need to be careful they don’t hear the refrain ‘Do now what you did then’ when it comes to a housing vote, the budget, or any other major piece of legislation. For many on the outside, the example is simple. If you could prevent one vote, you can prevent any vote. If Dail’s speaking time is worth it, then surely so many other issues are worth it?

This of course is a nightmare scenario, it’s no way to run a country. Ireland is facing many challenges, both the government and opposition demonstrated yesterday that they lack the foresight or maturity to handle any of them. They need to change that image quickly. It was a bad start, but all is not lost yet.

Such scenes should not be revisited unless we want all faith in the political system to be lost. So, for all our sakes, let’s hope they show they have not forgotten that politics is about statecraft and ability rather than noise and words. Take a time out, take a deep breath, count to ten, and please get on with the job.

Johnny Fallon is a political commentator, author and voice of ‘The Johnny Fallon Podcast’.