Dail Sketch/Michael O'Regan: Never before, perhaps, has a government minister so welcomed the run-up to the national feast day and the adjournment of the Dáil.
Micheál Martin is to visit Australia as part of the annual St Patrick's Day ministerial exodus.
Yesterday in the Dáil he looked like a man who would prefer to be Down Under as the Opposition attempted to put him on the political floor.
Flanked by Mary Harney and Brian Cowen, Mr Martin sometimes appeared tense.
He looked pale, and his bright red tie was the only concession to colour in a sombre demeanour.
When he finished his speech, he sipped a glass of water and than asked for a refill.
Behind him, two of the other ministers in the political drama, Tim O'Malley and Ivor Callely, his juniors when he served in the Department of Health, listened in silence.
Mr O'Malley, too, sipped water, while Mr Callely wore an expression which bordered on the grief-stricken.
Mr Martin listened to demands for his resignation from Fine Gael's Enda Kenny and Labour's Pat Rabbitte. "Dead man walking," snorted Mr Rabbitte.
The Labour leader was perplexed that Mr Martin had not pursued the nursing home charges as the man heading the Department of Health.
He had, said Mr Rabbitte, never asked: "By the way, did the Attorney General say our arse is out the window on this?"
Towards the end of the exchanges, Mr Martin rounded on the Opposition, asking why he was supposed to be different from the other ministers who had served since 1976 in the department.
Earlier, he was scathing about "the culture of playing the man and not the ball".
Green Party TD John Gormley was unimpressed, claiming that Government politicians had simply washed their hands of the issue.
"No one has assumed political responsibility," he declared.
Support for the Government came from Galway East Independent TD Paddy McHugh, who said it was "nauseating to witness people in this House engaging in manufactured hysteria".
Earlier on the Order of Business, Labour's Joan Burton suggested that Ms Harney should go for a swim in the National Aquatic Centre, given that she was staying at home for St Patrick's Day. "It is closed," said Ms Burton dryly.
Ms Harney said that she would be going to Lubljana and Sarajevo next week for two or three days, Frank Fahey having stood in for her in San Francisco.
"The only diving I will be doing between now and Easter is diving into the Travers report and all its implications and implementing its excellent recommendations," the Tánaiste added.
One suspects that as Mr Martin packed his bags for Australia, the report was also included in his reading material.