Paul Hosford: Ceann Comhairle election adds intrigue to first day of 34th Dáil
The election of a new Ceann Comhairle, the first set piece of the new Dáil term, could be one of its most interesting, just hours after the Dáil reconvenes.
Shortly after the names of the 174 members of the 34th Dáil are read officially into the record, the process will begin of electing a Ceann Comhairle, with a decision made in 2016 making it all the more interesting.
At that point, then taoiseach Enda Kenny adopted a radical political reform agenda that included the election of the chair by secret ballot. The move, which was backed by a constitutional convention and a number of political scientists, marked a fundamental shift in the way the Dáil does its business.
At a cabinet meeting in January 2016, Mr Kenny sought approval for the change, which came into effect following that year’s general election.
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Seán Barrett, who had held the office since 2011, launched a scathing attack on the government’s plan. On the eve of his retirement from office, he insisted that the position should be voted on in public, and not with a veil of secrecy.
He told the : “Maybe I’m old-fashioned but the election of the Ceann Comhairle was always done in the open. Why not let us all walk up the stairs [of the Dáil chamber] and vote for x or y, or whoever.”
But Mr Kenny’s contention was that the move would make the office more independent of the government and would allow a reform agenda be carried out across the Dáil.
It was part of what was called at the time “new politics”, a reflection of Fine Gael’s position as a minority government, one which allowed for a much more collaborative Oireachtas.
Under the new system, the Ceann Comhairle is elected by a PR-STV system where TDs will retire to the ante-room of the Seanad and cast their vote for the nominees. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs will do so under the instruction or recommendation from their party leaders to cast their votes for Verona Murphy, the Independent TD from Wexford.
And here is where the intrigue starts. Within Simon Harris’s party, there is a question among some TDs about voting for someone who the party has deemed not fit to run as a candidate. In 2019, Verona Murphy was dropped from Fine Gael's general election ticket amid fears she would damage the party if allowed to run.
The party’s executive council met a week before Christmas and agreed to deselect the then Irish Road Haulage Association president following controversial remarks she made during the Wexford by election campaign just a month previously.
Ms Murphy confirmed to the media that she had been deselected and claimed that she had been “silenced” by her former party after being asked not to take part in a TV debate. This followed remarks she made about asylum seekers needing to be “de-programmed” as they may have been influenced by Islamic State.
Ms Murphy would go on to run as an Independent in the general election and claim a seat ahead of junior minister Michael D’Arcy of Fine Gael.
In the four and a half years since her election, she’s been a constant and combative critic of the government and has built a local machine which has seen five Independent councilors elected to Wexford County Council. She topped the poll in last month’s election.
In the wake of Ms Murphy’s first radio interview following deselection in 2019, then health minister Simon Harris said his party’s decision to drop her “is looking better by the moment”. He said:
But Fine Gael faces a different reality now than it did in 2019. Of its 38 TDs, 23 are new arrivals. Of the 15 left, 13 are ministerial office holders.
It was unlikely that the party was ever going to have someone to nominate, and would be loath to allow the gap between themselves and Fianna Fáil grow to 11 TDs. The Fine Gael contingent was, as one source puts it, “always going to have to hold our nose”.
For Fianna Fáil, however, the direction that Ms Murphy be voted for could backfire on Mr Martin.
When TDs cast their votes today, Wednesday, there will be two Fianna Fáil members on the ballot paper.
Asking TDs to vote against their own is a very generous version of new politics on the Tánaiste’s behalf.
While sources said the reaction to his directive was “mostly grand”, there are some who question what will happen in the privacy of the polling booth.
Outgoing Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl said he was keeping his name in the running in order to “defend the primacy of the Dáil” against the position being “bartered” in government formation talks. He said the reform of the role had taken it out of party politics, making it a secret ballot.
“These are not posts to be bartered with,” he told RTÈ’s .
“It’s not beyond party politics when it’s part of a bartering arrangement.”
Mr Ó Fearghaíl had said he would not seek a third term in the job, but has changed his mind and would like to see out half a term in order to protect the reform agenda he began in the chair.
He will be joined on the ballot by John McGuinness, who sources say will “perform better than anticipated”.
Some in the party have lamented Mr Ó Fearghaíl’s intervention, saying that, had he not announced a run, a consensus Fianna Fáil candidate such as Michael Moynihan would have been able to launch a serious campaign.
The Cork North-West man decided against a run this week, but would have been a popular choice.
But there is an argument that electing Ms Murphy will pave the way for a government to be formed and that this must take primacy over party politics, too. It is an argument Mr Martin will hope is heeded.
Because of the whipped nature of nearly everything that happens in the Oireachtas, Wednesday’s vote will be unique. It may also lead to a smooth installation of a new government. Or it might cause fireworks.