Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

In objecting to this item being taken without debate, I made the point that the position of Leas-Cheann Comhairle is an important one. The Taoiseach confirmed that he wished the Opposition to hold the office of Leas-Cheann Comhairle. That being the case, the Leaders of the Opposition parties should at least have been invited to nominate a person whom the Opposition would put forward as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

The Taoiseach has made a magnanimous gesture in allowing the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to be appointed from the Opposition benches. However, he has gone further and named an individual Deputy without any consultation with the Fine Gael Party which has 51 Members, almost a third of the Dáil Members. That shows contempt and shows no respect for an electoral mandate given to us by more than 500,000 people.

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