Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have resigned myself to it. Is it true that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, threatened to pull the plug on the Taoiseach's Administration on the basis of the handling of the appointment to the Court of Appeal? Is it true that he threatened to pull the plug unless the Taoiseach guaranteed that the judicial appointments legislation would go through the Houses before the summer recess? It is essential that the Taoiseach answers those questions. They are clear questions which require clear answers because it is not only me but the public who needs to understand the workings of Government. I am not asking the Taoiseach to breach Cabinet confidentiality - perish the thought - or any other long-standing convention. I am simply asking him to answer in plain language whether the Minister, Deputy Ross, threatened that course of action and if it was on the basis of the Taoiseach's handling of the appointment to the Court of Appeal. Did the Minister resile from the position on the basis that he would get what has been described as "his legislation" on judicial appointments over the line prior to the summer recess?

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