Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

-----should answer the following questions. What influence will Michael Lowry have in the allocation of public money in the national development plan and the HSE capital plan? How will this influence be exercised? Will there be special treatment for requests from Michael Lowry? This is public money. We need transparency. The public has a right to know.

The independence of the office of the Ceann Comhairle was the first on the chopping block as part of the Lowry deal but speaking rights quickly followed. Michael Lowry was clear from the outset that he would get Opposition leader speaking rights and that is exactly what Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have delivered for him. Last week they broke their promise and rammed this through the Dáil.

However, we expected fair procedures from the Ceann Comhairle. Since her appointment the Social Democrats have worked with the Ceann Comhairle in good faith. Today I want to stress that we do not want to personalise this but we cannot ignore what happened. A vote was called on the Order of Business but that was ignored. That is a fundamental breach of the democratic process. There have been claims that calls for a vote were not audible given the din in the Chamber. However, there is a vote on the Order of Business nearly every week. Is anyone seriously suggesting that the Opposition looked happy last week with the Order of Business? Anyone simply glancing at the turmoil on the Opposition benches would have known that last week's business was not agreed. This was abundantly clear. Anyone looking back at videos of the Dáil proceedings can clearly hear a very audible "Votáil". This is what is at issue. It is for this reason the Social Democrats, with regret, do not have confidence in the Ceann Comhairle.

Ultimately, it is the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste who put the Ceann Comhairle in this position. All their talk about the importance of greater oversight and transparency has been revealed to be a sham. Support for Dáil reform was only ever temporary. It suited Fianna Fáil after the economic crash when it was trying to rehabilitate itself. It suited Micheál Martin to use Dáil reform as cover for the confidence and supply arrangement he did with Fine Gael, which paved the way for the coalition of the Civil War parties.

Reform is being abandoned now for a politician found to be profoundly corrupt. Fianna Fáil is back on the top floor with all the arrogance of the past and this, it seems, is all that matters. It seems that the humility Fianna Fáil learned after the crash was merely temporary. The hubris and arrogance that helped collapse the economy is back. Even the tax breaks for developers seem to be making a comeback.

We need a different approach and a more collaborative and constructive Dáil. The challenges the country faces are too big for things simply to become more and more polarised.

How this Dáil works is in need of deep reform. This must be done by agreement on a cross-party basis. I believe the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have made a mistake by going down this divisive route. However, despite this, the Social Democrats will not waver in its belief that in politics we need more co-operation, not less, more constructive engagement and, crucially, more accountability.

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