Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a responsibility on every Member of this House to make sure that it does not become a toxic place to work. I have been here for nine years. I have never found it a toxic place. I have found it a place where there is vigorous and abrasive debate within this Chamber, but it has always been respectful. However, what we saw on 22 January and last week was different. The reason it was different was because people were shouted down. I have no difficulty with or objection, and neither does anyone else in this House, to being heckled while making a speech. It is nearly part of the democratic process. However, when somebody is incapable or prevented from making a speech or running orders that are part of Dáil procedures, that is different, and that is what happened on 22 January and last week. The criticism from the Opposition is that the Ceann Comhairle did not take the vote. In fairness to her, if we go back to 22 January, the criticism of her at that stage was that she did not allow a vote to be taken. On both occasions, the one thing that was consistent was that there were efforts being made to shout down what was being said here in the Chamber. That is not a route down which we want to go. If we go down that route, we are going to find politics in this country becoming as toxic as they are in other countries. Everyone in the House knows there is a certain element of performativeness to what happens in this Chamber, but even if there is vigorous and abrasive debate, afterwards, we are still able to engage in a friendly manner with each other. That is something that is important and we should seek to try to retain it.

I am also concerned that the Members who just recently got elected to this Dáil during the previous election may think that this is the normal way to behave; it is not. It is not normal, in my experience as a Member of Dáil Eireann for nine years, that people are shouted down.

Another thing we have to be careful of is that the way we resolve contentious issues in this Chamber is to have a vote. We determine the issue by a vote. Many of us do not like the result of the vote. We were in opposition for many years and did not like the result of the vote, but if a vote is taken, that issue is determined. If we do not respect that vote, we are going to find ourselves in a difficult position. I would hope at the end of this debate when there is a vote that people will accept the outcome of it because if we do not accept the outcome of votes in this Chamber, we are in a very different position to where we have been at any stage previously.

Like other Deputies, I believe this row has gone on for too long. It needs to be brought to a conclusion. The way it should be brought to a conclusion is through the normal democratic process of a vote. I will ask members of the Opposition and, indeed, all Members of the House to accept the votes of the House. If there is a vote at the end of this process that goes one way, let us just abide by that vote and get on with our business.

I am not attributing any blame to individuals as to why we do not have committees, but I will say this as Minister for Justice: there is a battalion of work that needs to be done, and I need committees there. I need Opposition spokespersons in committee holding me to account. I ask that we do that as quickly as possible.

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