Mattie McGrath Protests Speaking List Procedure as 'Shambolic'
Mattie McGrath challenged the procedure for signing the speaking list during a bill debate, arguing he was unfairly shut out and calling the arrangements 'shambolic'. He said he had been present for the earlier debate and understood members should wait until the chair took the seat before giving down their names.
Procedural complaint
He criticised the practice of allowing members to give down their names before the chair takes the seat and said this was effectively shutting people out. He emphasised that he was present throughout the earlier debate and felt the rule had been clear to him.
Exchange on logistics
A response explained the difficulty of waiting until the chair is seated, noting the risk that many members could converge on the chair or the clerk simultaneously and that it would be hard to decide who goes first on the list.
Rules and order of business
There was repeated emphasis from other members that the practice described was not part of the order of business, with reminders that deputies chair sessions themselves and are familiar with the rules.
Planned follow-up
McGrath said he would raise the issue with the business committee to seek clarity and remedy what he described as a shambolic process.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
My understanding was, I waited for this bill this evening, and people said that they welcome opposing views, we're getting no right here, when did it happen that you can come in before the time of the commission of the bill and give down your names? I was here and I could have given down my names, I was here for all the previous debate, but my understanding was you had to wait until the chair took the seat and introduced the debate before you give down your names. That's my clear, I'll be raising this as the business committee because this is shambolic, shutting out of people. I'll answer that too. The reason it's difficult to do it that way is this. You could again have converged on the chair or the clerk and 10, 15 members converge at the same time. Who decides then who goes first? Who goes first on the list? It's not possible. It's not the order of business. No, no, it's not. It's not the order of business. No, no, it's not. No, I'm sorry, this is not the order of business. No, I'm sorry, Deputy, you know the rules as well as I do. You chair sessions yourself, so you know the story. I do. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
