Sir, – As the Dáil faces another confidence motion, it is worth remembering these were once rare. In the 20 years between 1995 and 2015 (not exactly a crisis-free period), the Dáil debated six. Since 2016 there have been 10. Nearly double in less than half the time. Debates such as these are constitutional safeguards, designed as a grave acts of censure, but are now moved with weary regularity.
All TDs are diminished when their gravest sanction becomes predictable partisan grandstanding. Debates that once tested conscience now resemble choreography. Enough. – Yours, etc,
Colm Jordan,
Dublin 14.
