Dáil Sketch: Like the changing of the seasons or the sighting of the first corncrake of summer, the inevitable row over the length of the holidays surfaced as the Dáil adjourned for Easter.
Ceann Comhairle Dr Rory O'Hanlon had barely said "is that agreed" when Fine Gael's Michael Ring shot to his feet to express his outrage.
"Is the Government going to close the Dáil again for another two weeks," thundered Magill magazine's "heckler of the year".
"It is like a government in exile. If it wants to go into exile, let it leave the country."
As cynical smiles spread on all sides of the House the colourful deputy pleaded: "I ask the Government to show respect for the people of this country and the Dáil."
The Ceann Comhairle quipped that "if the deputy does not want to resume his seat he will have an earlier recess than anybody else".
"Where will they put me? I will not be put out at all because the Dáil will not be open," Mayo Michael shot back.
"The deputy will be put out," the Ceann Comhairle assured him.
Mr Ring shouted "the Government and the Fianna Fáil backbenchers are all in on it. Let us go to the country and let the people decide". What a shock it would have been for Deputy Ring, never mind the rest of the chamber had Tánaiste Mary Harney called his bluff.
Had it ever happened before? One Fianna Fáil source later recalled it occurring in 1972, when a byelection planned for the autumn was held in August after then taoiseach Jack Lynch gave his heckling opposition what they wished for, during a row over the Dáil's summer adjournment.
Yesterday, Green Party leader Trevor Sargent could rest assured that it was unlikely Ms Harney would grant his wish for the House to resume a week earlier than the scheduled April 25th return.
He pointed out that 92 days a year was "not a proper parliamentary term in European terms".
He expressed his fear: "The Government cannot be left to operate without the public accountability the Dáil would ensure."
Independent TD Paudge Connolly expressed his cynicism about the regular rows over Dáil sittings.
"We have this type of charade at every recess. It is designed for little more than public consumption," said the Cavan-Monaghan deputy wearily. "If we were genuine about this we would establish an all-party committee" and examine the issue properly, he added.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte was more concerned with the decision that golf's Ryder Cup would not be broadcast free on TV. "Members will recall the Taoiseach's tour of television studios during Christmas," he said.
"He even appeared on Setanta Sports in a golf jersey and told us he was trying to organise free-to-air coverage." Was the Taoiseach still working on it, he asked.
Ms Harney told him what he already knew - that it would not happen - for a number of reasons, including the contractual arrangements agreed when it was decided to bring the Ryder Cup to Ireland.