Ceann Comhairle suspends Broughan in row over Harney's response to unemployment in Dublin

A Dublin TD was suspended from the Dβil in a row over the Government's economic policy and unemployment in the north and west…

A Dublin TD was suspended from the Dβil in a row over the Government's economic policy and unemployment in the north and west of the city.

Mr Tommy Broughan (Lab, Dublin North-East) was ordered from the House by the Ceann Comhairle, Mr Seamus Pattison, after persistent calls for the establishment of a jobs task force.

Repeatedly criticising the Government's economic policy, Mr Broughan said the "early warning system" in the Tβnaiste's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, about potential job losses, was a "load of nonsense".

The Tβnaiste, Ms Harney, stressed unemployment remained low at 3.6 per cent. It was clear the high-tech sector was undergoing its most difficult period in 40 years, but it would remain a strong sector.

READ MORE

Mr Broughan claimed the Tβnaiste did not have accurate figures on job losses and that she had admitted this to the Fine Gael leader, Mr Michael Noonan. It was "an outrageous dereliction of duty by the Tβnaiste", for the west-side and north-side of Dublin and "we're getting sick of it".

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran is Parliamentary Correspondent of The Irish Times