THE SEANAD WAS reduced to shouting and pleading this afternoon after one Senator told another to get “treatment for haemorrhoids”.
Senators Rónán Mullen and Fidelma Healy-Eames were speaking about RTÉ’s coverage of the abortion debate when an insult by Mullen was objected to by Senator David Norris.
Uproar ensued.
Mullen was commenting about yesterday’s BAI ruling that a broadcast of the Ray D’Arcy Show featuring Amnesty International’s Colm O’Gorman breached rules for “fairness, impartiality and objectivity”.
Mullen claimed that Labour members are being hypocritical for seeking to have religion removed from State-funded schools but not seeking a balanced debate on the State-funded broadcaster.
If you only object to bias when it upsets yourselves and your point of you, then you’re no real democrat. You go on like harpies everytime somebody calls for simple fairness.
Norris objected to Mullen’s use of the term ‘harpies’ and it began three-way shouting match involving the pair and Healy-Eames.
Cathaoirleach Paddy Burke attempted to maintain order before Healy-Eames accused Senator Ivana Bacik of trying to “stop the debate”.
Senator Jim Walsh then rose, saying he had a point of order:
On a point of order, can somebody please give Senator Bacik some treatment for haemorrhoids.
It was met with an angry reaction from the chamber with Norris attempting to have Burke rebuke Walsh’s his statement.
Mullen, meanwhile, pleaded to be able to finish his “concluding two sentences”.
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