Dáil Speaking rights row blows up again amid reference to ‘Lowry lackeys’

Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik withdrew comments she made about “Lowry lackeys” in the course of the row.

It erupted after the Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy announced the membership of a new Dáil Reform Committee to study the rules.

Three Opposition leaders claimed the Government was trying to backtrack on an agreed truce to the last Dáil dispute on the issue — which delayed the election of the Taoiseach by 24 hours.

Meanwhile Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit claimed Government’s new proposals would reduce the Taoiseach’s exposure to Leaders’ Questions from twice a week to just once a week.

Amid the complaints, the Taoiseach said he had “observed with growing interest the emerging Labour Party-Sinn Féin alliance.”

“The Opposition keep saying the Government is trying to ram things through, but it seems the Opposition is trying to ram through a Labour and Sinn Féin view of who people should associate with,” Mr Martin said.

He said he had never come across such a…