HOPES that Dail deputies of every party would participate in a state of the nation debate on tonight's Late Late Show have finally faded. Party whips have agreed to rein in all their TDs and make the Montrose studio a no go area after dark.
The only TD to breach the ban is Mr Trevor Sargent of the Green Party.
In no way nonplussed by the absence of the other deputies, Gay Byrne said yesterday that his show would go ahead with a panel of four - a factory worker, a nun, a journalist and an academic - and would discuss areas such as crime, unemployment, taxation; in other words, "Ireland today".
"But," said Mr Byrne, "doesn't it cast an interesting sidelight on this Government that preaches openness, accountability and transparency? Here is a chance for them to be open. I am amused by the whole thing. All this bunkum about the dignity of the House ... It was never our intention to have a session of the Dail outside the House!".
He was referring to a reply from the Committee on Procedure and Privileges (CPP) - the Oireachtas governing body - which last December deemed the suggestion "wholly inappropriate and out of keeping with the Constitution, status and dignity of parliament".
The show's producer, Mr John Masterson, explained that, last November, he and Gay Byrne jointly invited every TD to take part in a two hour discussion on living in Ireland today.
The public representatives would face a panel of six people representing the plain people of Ireland.
The matter was referred to the CPP which decided the show would be an unfit forum for a debate of this nature involving TDs.
So the Late Late Show then asked each party's press office to provide a number of TDs, 40 in all, appropriate to their representation in Dail Eireann.
The party whips met on Wednesday night and agreed that no TD from any party should attend. Nobody would break ranks. However, Fianna Fail and Democratic Left had considered participation but would not "go against the wishes of the other parties", a source said.
As far as Gay Byrne is concerned, the political parties "used the CPP as an excuse". "It has no real jurisdiction over them on whether or not they should take part ... I suppose they don't want to be put in an awkward situation."