The Dail Committee on Procedure and Privileges meets in secret every now and again to discuss, well, procedure and privilege, in the House. All parties are represented and it is chaired by the Ceann Comhairle, Seamus Pattison. At its last meeting, a suggestion was made that the portraits of taoisigh (of which there are seven hanging in Leinster House: W.T. Cosgrave, Eamon de Valera, John A. Costello, Sean Lemass, Jack Lynch, Charlie Haughey and Garret FitzGerald) should be moved around rather than stay in the same position. Portraits of Albert Reynolds and John Bruton (by Carey Clarke and Edward Plunkett respectively) and of Bertie Ahern, will not be hung until they leave politics.
The idea came in a letter from Jim Mitchell, who is not a member but who felt Leinster House should follow the example of Aras an Uachtarain in rotating portraits. It all sounds pretty innocuous but Quidnunc's sources think otherwise. The best position in the house is possibly that occupied by Haughey, across from FitzGerald, at the bottom of the steps down from the Dail chamber. The others are arranged around the gallery above the stairs and rarely seen by the casual visitor to Leinster House. Some feel, and it was implied rather than said, that this is far too grand a position for Haughey; hence the suggestion to move them around.