Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

That is a ruling which has been enforced on many occasions by predecessors of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Standing Order 58 reads: "A member shall not make an utterance in the nature of being defamatory and where a member makes such an utterance it may be prima facie an abuse of privilege, subject to the provisions of this Standing Order". It goes on to state the Ceann Comhairle should intervene, but he did not. I have witnessed the Ceann Comhairle intervene in some of the most trivial causes in this House when the supposed offender was a Member of the Opposition benches. Why did the Ceann Comhairle not intervene on this occasion, nor leave any instructions with the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to cause the Taoiseach to come to the House to put the record straight? For the Tánaiste to say the Taoiseach meant the former chief executive was trying to strip the assets of a State company only compounds the insult. The decision to sell Aer Lingus for a pittance is wrong but whatever it is worth, to accuse somebody of seeking to steal it was a serious abuse of privilege for populist purposes and electoral gain. That one of the Taoiseach's colleagues, speaking on radio this morning, should explain it as an example of the Taoiseach praising the integrity of the former executives beggars belief.

I ask the Tánaiste to again address the question put to her. Does she agree with the Taoiseach that the former senior executives of Aer Lingus attempted to steal the assets of the company?

I call on the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to address an outrageous breach of privilege on the part of the Taoiseach. No Member on this side of the House would have got away with what the Ceann Comhairle pretended not to hear.

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