The office of Ceann Comhairle has been dragged into a mess of the Government’s making. The Ceann Comhairle's position has become untenable because of a deal between the Government and Michael Lowry and his group. The big question is why. Why is the Government willing to go to such lengths to facilitate Mr. Lowry? Why does it insist that someone can be in government and in opposition at the same time, all for Mr. Lowry? None of us knows why. Mr. Lowry is certainly not saying. He is showing everyone the two fingers. None of us knows what is in the secret, grubby deal the Government negotiated with Michael Lowry, but we know it included the very office of Ceann Comhairle, so here we are at this impasse. This is the last thing any of us in the Labour Party wanted. Throughout my career, I have been proud to work constructively and collaboratively. That is what Labour Party activists do in the Dáil, the Seanad and the European Parliament, and on our councils and in our communities. We use our voices to raise the issues that matter on housing, healthcare, climate, jobs and the cost of living. On the eve of Trump’s tariffs and with the threat of a global Trump slump, this is a time to work constructively to address these issues. I am glad we have been able to do that over the past few weeks but undoubtedly much attention has been focused on the ludicrous Lowry affair. Regrettably, it has culminated in the dragging into the picture of the Ceann Comhairle’s office. We in Labour worked hard to find a resolution to this from the start. The Taoiseach has left the Chamber, but he will recall that I approached him and the Tánaiste very early on in the process, directly here in the Chamber, seeking to find a resolution. This was rejected by both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste initially. I am glad that all the leaders of all the parties then came together. We reached an agreement in good faith, which was read into the Dáil record by the former Government Chief Whip, Hildegarde Naughton. It stated that the Government would work to secure agreement on this matter acceptable to Government and Opposition. Who reneged on that deal? It was not the Labour Party or any other Opposition party. It was the Government. A number of concerns arise as a result of the ramming through of the change to Standing Orders that the Government insisted on proposing. First, we see an unacceptable outcome, where the Lowry lads and lassie are now to be regarded as being on both sides of the fence, in a cynical manner occupying both Government and Opposition benches and, in some cases, moving to and fro among benches. Second, the Government sought to create this shame set piece. We will see it tomorrow in the new Other Members’ Questions slot, which is a sort of theatrical Government TDs’ parliamentary party meeting in public. A parliamentary party meeting in private-----

Sentiment score: 0.07

-----would certainly be a lot more critical of Ministers than we are likely to see tomorrow. Finally, we saw the Government and Ceann Comhairle ramming through changes last week in a way that was simply not acceptable. The attitude of the Taoiseach throughout this saga has been deeply frustrating. He has become increasingly tetchy in patronising Opposition leaders, accusing us of subverting democracy and, today, even of being arsonists. He gets deeply offended if we question his motivations and insists this is about a change to benefit Government backbenchers and give them more speaking time, but the reality is Government backbenchers will lose out. Other Members' Questions is being introduced at the expense of Taoiseach's Questions on a Wednesday, a slot that is now, as we saw today, being used by backbenchers lobbying for a junior Ministry who are queueing up to tell the Taoiseach how great he is and what a great job he is doing. The Taoiseach has changed his view on Dáil reform. He went through some selective memories about the Labour Party. Let me remind him that, in 2016, after the February general election, he made Dáil reform a condition of Government formation, saying there should be a "Major limit on [the] ability of government to control all business on an ongoing basis." At the time, Fianna Fáil produced a paper on Dáil reform stating: "freeing the Oireachtas from the absolute control of government is the single most important reform which is required." How things have changed. What has the Taoiseach done? He has got a secret deal with the Lowry group and all these great principles have gone out the window. He has overturned decades of parliamentary precedent and created a noxious environment. The Taoiseach wants to attack the Labour Party because we happen to agree with all the other parties in opposition on this issue. This attack is unwarranted. Other parties have their own histories, but I am proud to lead a party that has, for more than a century, worked to uphold the highest standards in public office. We have an unbroken record of holding ourselves to the highest ethical standards. The Taoiseach cannot say the same of his own party. When it comes to ethics, it is not the Labour Party that has negotiated a deal with a convicted offender who has been named by a tribunal as "profoundly corrupt". Members of Lowry’s own group will not even sit beside him, but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will stop at nothing to defend him and his deal. Regrettably, the Ceann Comhairle's office has been drawn into this. The Ceann Comhairle should enjoy bipartisan support. Under Standing Orders, she must apply the rules in an impartial and fair manner but last Tuesday, she deemed the Order of Business passed without a vote, despite clear objections from Opposition benches. In other words, she caused business to be carried out without a legitimate democratic basis and went on to ensure that the Standing Order change was rammed through in a highly contested process. For that reason, and with deep regret, the Labour Party now considers her position is no longer tenable. That is why we signed the amendment to this motion and why we will vote accordingly. As democrats, once that vote is held, we will of course accept its outcome. The Government may win the vote but we have won the argument. People see through this farce. The responsibility for that lies with the Government. This will be the lasting legacy of Micheál Martin on Dáil reform: a noxious environment in the Chamber; a breakdown in relationships; and two fingers from Michael Lowry. The well of goodwill has been well and truly poisoned and all efforts to reach a resolution in good faith were rebuffed by Government. This is a mess of the Government's making.

Sentiment score: 0.12

Yes, because of Lowry.

Sentiment score: 0.40

And you have Lowry.

Sentiment score: 0.00