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

I will be sharing time with Deputy Cullinane.

Deputy Micheál Martin is clinging desperately to the old adage that attack is the best form of defence. One can only imagine the outrage that would emanate from him if Deputies from any other party had falsified votes. The Deputy clearly wishes to engage in the politics of distraction and muddying the waters.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and the Clerk of the Dáil for this report and the work, which was done in a very short timeframe. Page 44 of the report sums up the situation devoid of bias, sentiment or excuses. Contrary to Deputy Micheál Martin's contention, there is one net issue, which is that last Thursday, Fianna Fáil's Deputies Lisa Chambers and Niall Collins voted on behalf of their absent colleagues, Deputies Dooley and Calleary. They also cast votes on their own behalf, meaning both Fianna Fáil Deputies voted twice. That is a very serious matter. They also voted for absent colleagues, which is gravely serious as well. Deputy Lisa Chambers knowingly did so once, while Deputy Niall Collins did so six times, under the assumption - or so he claims - that his colleague Deputy Dooley was at the back of the Dáil Chamber on the phone for almost an hour. Whatever one makes of the accounts offered up by Deputies Lisa Chambers and Niall Collins, and I do not make much of them, the facts established in the report show that both Fianna Fáil Deputies acted in defiance of Article 15 of Bunreacht na hÉireann, which explicitly states that Members must be present in order to vote. They also breached every common norm and standard of democratic practice both in this Parliament and beyond by voting twice. Do we need to tell Fianna Fáil that it is not okay to vote twice?

Both Deputies claim they acted on their own initiative and that they were not requested or coerced to vote for other colleagues. This stretches political credibility, particularly in the case of Deputies Niall Collins and Dooley, as video footage strongly suggests an exchange relating to votes took place. These Deputies' actions have caused damage to the Dáil, not because people care which seats we sit in or are interested in political squabbles, but because they care deeply and passionately about the quality of their democracy. The actions of Fianna Fáil reflect the worst politics of low standards in high places and reflect themselves again to be cavalier, arrogant and entitled. They show an absolute disregard and disrespect for the Constitution, the Oireachtas and the institutions of governance but most importantly, for the electorate. We are all elected to represent people and we make very serious decisions in this House. This is not a game. We pass budgets and make decisions on public spending and make, amend, and change laws. Our people have every right to expect that they have elected grown ups who can behave in a grown-up fashion. The core of this debacle is not about how we vote or where we sit. This is not a procedural matter and it is not really about electronic votingper seeither. At the core of this debacle is the behaviour of Fianna Fáil Deputies. Their behaviour smacks of contempt for both the institutions of government and the people. Some people who are following this debate might say "a plague on all their houses" or that we are all at it but Dáil Deputies are not all at it. Named and identified Fianna Fáil Deputies have been at it.

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