Attempt to clear Dail of press accepted as wrong

Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil Rory O'Hanlon has acknowledged that an attempt made to remove journalists from the Oireachtas press gallery on Tuesday should not have happened and would not happen again.

An usher acting under the instruction of the Oireachtas authorities told journalists to leave the gallery after the Dáil was suspended, following the refusal of Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen to leave the chamber. The Cork North Central TD had become embroiled in a row with the Ceann Comhairle after he persistently criticised the Government's performance on cancer care services in Cork. Journalists refused to leave, however, arguing that they had a duty to be present while the chamber was occupied, even if it had been suspended.

On Tuesday the Ceann Comhairle said he had not been aware of the effort by the House authorities to clear the press gallery, though yesterday morning he said this was in line with "convention".

Following Dr O'Hanlon's action members of the press gallery began to prepare a letter of protest. However, the Ceann Comhairle defused the row late yesterday afternoon when he told Labour chief whip Emmet Stagg that the removal attempt "was not in accordance with the rules and that this would not happen again".

Mr Stagg said: "I raised this matter with the Ceann Comhairle in the Dáil [ on Tuesday] and again today on the Order of Business. I subsequently received a telephone call from the Ceann Comhairle confirming that, as I pointed out this morning, the rule that had once applied that the press gallery had to be emptied during a recess no longer applied."

"The principle that sittings of the Dáil should be in public is so fundamental to our democracy that it is written into the Constitution. Any attempt to impose restrictions on the ability of the media to report on proceedings in the Dáil chamber, even where the Ceann Comhairle has called a brief recess, is incompatible with the principle that the House should meet in public," he said.