Dáil needs to restore public confidence in politics in wake of ‘crass stupidity’ of golfgate

Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghaíl has warned TDs of the need to rebuild confidence in the parliamentary system in the wake of the Clifden golf dinner controversy.

Mr O Fearghaíl described the dinner in breach of the regulations as either “collective crass stupidity” or “arrogant delusion or both”.

He said the dinner which breached public health guidelines, “has damaged public confidence in the political system”. He added that “confidence in this Dáil has been damaged”.

The Dáil was recalled two weeks early in the wake of the controversial dinner which resulted in a number of resignations including that of former minister for agriculture Dara Calleary and former EU commissioner Phil Hogan.

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Mr O Fearghaíl said “it is incumbent on us to collectively commit to rebuild public confidence”.

He said “the rules apply to everyone”.

The dinner hosted by the self-styled Oireachtas golf society should never have happened, Mr O Fearghaíl said.

He reminded the House that he had asked the Oireachtas golf society to consider disbanding and he said that having researched the issue he found the society was never formally established by the Oireachtas and had never been subvented in its 50 years existence.

He is also investigating if there are any other groups in operation under the Oireachtas name.

Everyone made mistakes and there is nobody who would not have changed their approach to an issue. “That is normal.”

“What isn’t normal for well intentioned intelligent and otherwise competent people to make a decision” to that seriously breached the Covid-19 guidelines.

He said the event and its consequences had damaged public confidence in the political system and in the Dáil.

He said it was incumbent on all TDs to collectively commit to rebuild confidence.

Warning that the rules applied to everyone he said there must be fairness and solidarity, he said

If public confidence is to be restored then the public must be satisfied the Dáil can conduct its business appropriately.

He also warned that “those who advocate crude majorities are as misguided as those who shout down alternative voices”.

He said TDs must show that their priority is to serve the people.

Earlier People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett warned that hi party would not let up in its opposition to changes to speaking arrangements in the Dáil.

The Dun Laoghaire TD was referring to the acrimonious row in the House on the last night before it adjourned for the summer when there were vitriolic exchanges had the Dáil had to be suspended twice.

Under the new arrangements smaller parties will be speak later in debates than previously.

Mr Boyd Barrett warned that it was an attempt to “gag, mute, undermine, marginalise opposition TDs”.

He said the Dáil needed cooperation facing into the winter and the battle against Covid-19 but he told the Government “you have made a big mistake and we are not going to let up”.

Independent TD Mattie McGrath described the changes to speaking slots as a “three-card trick” by the three-party coalition and it meant smaller parties and Independent TDs were “way down the speaking order”.

Government Chief Whip Jack Chambers said the changes aimed to give Government backbench TDs some increase in the proportion of speaking time but he said there was no reduction in the allocation of speaking time to opposition TDs..

The Ceann Comhairle said “we’re going to have to find a more constructive approach for dealing with this”.