What was Enda doing with his hands during Mary Lou's Budget speech?

There have been some raised eyebrows at the Taoiseach’s hand gesture in the Dáil yesterday afternoon.

A GESTURE MADE by Taoiseach Enda Kenny during yesterday’s Dáil debate on the Budget has come under scrutiny today.

Kenny was filmed making what appears to be a punching gesture with his hands as Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald was delivering her response to the budget measures.

enda punching

The video was posted on Twitter yesterday and sparked quite a strong reaction from some:

Enda making shapes at Mary Lou during her speech ! #budget16 #vinb #cblive pic.twitter.com/f4nlHsB25s
— Bank of Island (@Bankofisland) October 13, 2015

Bank of island / Twitter

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Well now; Glad I was not the only one to considered Enda Kenny's palm punching to have been inappropriate during Mary Lou's presentation.
— Frank Lennon (@DisparatePost) October 13, 2015

Frank Lennon / Twitter

We contacted a government spokesperson this evening to find out what Kenny was actually doing. They told us:

The Taoiseach was paying close attention to the deputy’s speech as he had to all Budget speeches given yesterday. Analysing a four second video for meaning that doesn’t exist is pointless.

Meanwhile McDonald was in no doubt about what Kenny was doing. While she was glad he was listening, the Dublin Central TD had some advice:

I’m relieved that the Taoiseach was listening intently, however a punching gesture is unusual behaviour to say the least and I would suggest not to be repeated.

Read: The government won’t be doing Seanad reform after all

State of the Nation: Did Labour get too much in the Budget?

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