At Punchestown this week several queries arose about the progress of the Dail horse, the appropriately named Grand Alliance which is owned by a cross-party syndicate of 17 members of all parties in Leinster House, bar Labour. It is currently in training with Noel Meade in Meath. Indeed, such unease is there among consortium members - because they have yet to see the horse run - that there is talk of a motion of no confidence in the chairman and secretary at the next meeting. One member told Quidnunc darkly that Grand Alliance has been pronounced a bit moody. Perhaps, he said, they should get it a psychiatrist.
But what about a psychiatrist for the members themselves, not just the secret 17, but all who toil in Oireachtas Eireann, asks Quidnunc. During these times of allegation, innuendo, inquiries, resignations, elections and dreaded tribunals they must be more traumatised than most. After all, the House of Commons Select Committee on Health is to provide psychiatric counselling for the 659 MPs on the grounds that politicians have emotional problems like everyone else. There is already a GP and a health adviser on hand in the Palace of Westminster, so now it's time for a psychologist or better still, psychiatrist. The man behind the scheme is the Labour MP for Dartford, Dr Howard Stoate who, according to a recent Sun- day Telegraph "has already enhanced the lot of his colleagues by prescribing them Viagra".
Quidnunc's man on the syndicate, once he stopped laughing, thought the psychiatrist might have a role, whatever about the Viagra. But only for the Opposition.