An independent TD who became a junior minister has highlighted a gap in speaking time for members of Government and those in opposition.
Marian Harkin was among five independents who were given junior minister roles after agreeing to support a Programme for Government led by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.
However, other independent TDs who negotiated as bloc with Ms Harkin were not given ministerial positions despite agreeing to support the Government.
A bitter row was then ignited when it emerged that the Government was in support of allowing those remaining Government-aligned independents to join a technical group for the allocation of Dail speaking time.
Opposition parties said the independents could not be allocated their time and must be recognised by the Dail as members of Government.
Coalition figures say that those independents be recognised as non-aligned to either the Government or opposition and have instead proposed new rules on speaking rights for a new grouping of “other members”.
The measure, which is to be voted on after St Patrick’s Day, would also allocate more time to backbenchers of the Government parties.
Ms Harkin, who sat as an independent in the previous Dail, said she received more speaking time when she was in opposition.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, she added: “I was a member of the opposition and there wasn’t a week that went by that I spoke once, twice, three times – and sometimes twice a day.
“Since I’ve been re-elected, I actually have not had any opportunity to speak in the Dail.
“I know I’m a junior minister so I know it is quite not the same thing, but that does just give you another perspective on it.”
Minister for Higher Education James Lawless (Niall Carson/PA)
Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister James Lawless said the reaction to the speaking rights row has been “unhelpful, obstructive, and disproportionate”.
Mr Lawless said: “We’re not just talking about a small number of the independent group, we’re talking about 60 Fianna Fail and Fine Gael backbenchers who don’t have the right to speak.”
As an example, the minister turned to his colleague in the previous government Green party leader Roderic O’Gorman and 100% Redress TD Charles Ward.
He said: “He was a valued colleague in government and is a very strong TD, but he’s a party of one. He spoke twice last week, once on Leaders’ Questions and 20 minutes later on a question on promised legislation.
“Charles Ward, the Donegal representative – independent, a party of one – spoke today in the Dail, spoke yesterday on his Leaders Questions.
“In the course of his comments, he mentioned that he spoke in Leaders Questions the week before. That’s three times in a week, three times more than any my colleagues in Fianna Fail or Fine Gael got to speak at all, in terms of our backbenchers.”
Speaking time is agreed within opposition technical groups and TDs can go several weeks without speaking.
Mr Lawless said the Government should get “at least the same opportunities” as the opposition for speaking time, adding: “You could argue it should have more because it’s got more seats and more support from the mandate of the ballot box.”
He said an “inequality” has arisen from Dail reforms of 2016 which sees the opposition with more speaking time than the Government.
“I think it was perhaps a little over generous when we look back on it,” he added.