SF warns of potential legal action over debating rights

Sinn Féin has warned the party will take legal action if TDs are not allowed to debate and vote on government regulations they oppose, including fisheries penalty points.

Party finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said the Dáil would be "acting illegally" by preventing elected members, who oppose regulations introduced by a Minister, and who seek a debate and vote on them, from doing so within the legal deadline.

He said he wanted to make it clear that if they were being denied their legal entitlement to place a motion to annul a statutory instrument on penalty points, “we will have to seek recourse in the courts to address that, if we are not facilitated in doing so”.

He said Sinn Féin had tabled a motion three times on annulling a statutory instrument on fisheries penalty points, which was “overturned by the courts and found to be unconstitutional in two cases in January”, but had been prevented from debating it.

Mr Doherty said statutory instruments or regulations “can be annulled by a simple majority of this House, but that can only be done with a certain timeframe”, within 21 sitting days.

Fisheries offences

He referred to a statutory instrument signed on March 1st by Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney on enforcing penalty points for fisheries offences, where alleged offenders are cleared by the courts.

The legal instrument gives effect to EU regulations on fisheries offences in Irish waters, mainly related to quota infringements.

Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl noted Mr Doherty’s comments, adding that “you are very well aware of the fact that I have no role in fixing the schedule of debates” and that it was a matter for the whip.

Earlier, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and Richard Boyd Barrett of Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit renewed calls for a debate on scrapping water charges.

Mr Adams said the Government had prevented a motion calling for the scrapping of water charges, supported by 33 TDs, from being debated.

Mr Boyd Barrett said water charges were one of the defining issues of the government formation discussions “but this House is not being allowed to discuss it”.