Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Is there an official policy to ensure all local councillors and Deputies with an interest in their areas can be invited to such events? I asked the Taoiseach about the North because we would not have expected Mr. Jeffrey Donaldson, MP, to get angry about local representatives in the North not being invited to the Taoiseach's event yesterday. He said the way the Taoiseach behaved showed poor manners and disrespect because no local representative was informed and none of the other normal local protocols was followed. That was reported in today's Irish News. People from all the political parties in the North will say there is a regular protocol, as there has been in the Republic, where public representatives are invited to events. The Taoiseach seems to want to exclude them.

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