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The election of Ireland’s new Taoiseach (prime minister) has been postponed due to disorder in the country’s parliament, the Dáil. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was supposed to be nominated by parliament and then formally appointed by President Michael D Higgins, but proceedings had to be suspended. The suspension was prompted by TDs, who reportedly refused to stop shouting and take their seats, prompting the Ceann Comhairle, Verona Murphy, to call for a 15-minute suspension.
The opposition parties are said to have expressed their anger over plans to allow independent TDs supporting the government to join them on the opposition benches. Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald described the move as “brazen”. After the Dáil resumed, several TDs continued to challenge Murphy over the decision to allow independent TDs on the opposition benches, which resulted in proceedings being suspended for 30 minutes. At around 13:15 local time, the Dáil was adjourned for a further 45 minutes.
This is the first meeting of the new Dáil, which was the subject of controversy due to the formation of a “technical group” of independent TDs. The group includes members such as Michael Lowry, Danny Healy-Rae, Barry Heneghan, and Gillian Toole, who support the government. Vermora Murphy, the new Ceann Comhairle, who is also a regional independent and the first woman to hold the role, reportedly told TDs she would consider submissions opposing the plan, but allowed the group to “provisionally” take their original seats. The move has been opposed by all other opposition groups, who argue that it takes time away from those who want to scrutinize the government.
Sinn Féin remains the largest opposition party in the Dáil after winning 39 seats. Fianna Fáil achieved 48 seats, becoming the largest party, while Fine Gael obtained 38 seats. Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael ruled out Sinn Féin as a coalition partner during the negotiations that led to the formation of the new government
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