By Dan Walsh
Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy has addressed the opposition leaders in Dáil Éireann after they announced their intention to challenge her with a ‘no confidence’ vote.
The Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil has rejected the allegations about her speaking rights role as unfounded, stating she plans to continue in her position.
Tonight, Verona Murphy stated she will continue in her challenging role and advised TDs to abide by their constitutional obligations amid calls for her resignation.
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has said he would be cautious to move too quickly to state no confidence in the Ceann Comhairle, despite sharing anger over the vote yesterday, arguing that the circumstances in the Dáil would not have benefited anyone. He added that expressing no confidence in Deputy Murphy would not “fix the situation”, laying the blame on the government.
The motion, which was aimed to an end to the speaking rights row, sparked shouting and disorderly scenes in the chamber after the opposition said due procedure was not adhered to by Deputy Murphy.
The Dáil voted 94 to 74 to pass the controversial rule change, which changes how speaking rights are divided up. The opposition have contested the ratification of the vote.
Should the ‘no confidence’ vote be presented before the Dáil next week, Deputy Murphy is expected to retain her position with the support of the government. Delays in proceedings and the baggage that comes with coalition government agreement is not uncommon.
The 2020 General Election occurred on Saturday, February 8th. After four months and 128 days, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party agreed on a draft programme for government.
The government formation process took several months and involved various challenges. One significant issue was addressing the role of Sinn Féin, even though it was a major political party and had substantial public support on the island of Ireland.
Independent TD Verona Murphy was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 2020. She topped the poll with 11,340 – 838 above the quota – first preference votes in last November’s General Election for the Wexford constituency.
The Ramsgrange native was chosen as Ceann Comhairle for the 34th Dáil and has faced immense challenges from speaking rights to cohesion of the coalition parties and controversial agreements.
WexfordLocal.com 