The Dáil has to proceed according to the rules based on the numerical strength of the parties in the House, and Sinn Féin will have to accept that it has just four deputies, according to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Sinn Féin's Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin had appealed for better speaking rights, and challenged the passing of a motion without debate. He called on the Green Party to follow up its protests in opposition supporting the rights of smaller parties and to allow them to "have access to participation in all relevant opportunities and debates in this chamber".
Under the rules of the House, a party or grouping must have a minimum of seven members to have speaking and debating rights, including the right to ask leaders' and Taoiseach's questions as well as bring private members' motions.
Sinn Féin has four members and along with Independent TD Tony Gregory make up only five deputies in the House, resulting in the loss of speaking and debating rights they enjoyed in the last Dáil.
The Taoiseach said Mr Ó Caolain "will just have to accept, as I would have to in similar circumstances, that his party has four members. He can no longer expect the concessions his party received when it was part of a larger group. That situation has changed.
"His best bet is to be nice to the chief whip and hope he will allow him additional speaking time."
Mr Ó Caoláin said the existing situation "only compounds an already impossible situation for my colleagues and me", which he described as "grossly unfair".
He added that "based on numerical strength, surely we are entitled, even though our percentage may be small, to a squeak in some debates in the course of a 12-month period".
Mr Ahern said he was trying to be helpful, and pointed out that "even though his party has only four members in a House of 166, he was allowed to speak last week in a debate on the European Council".
