LABOUR TD MICHAEL McNamara was suspended from the Dáil this afternoon after a blazing row with the Ceann Comhairle.
TDs from his own party voted McNamara out of the chamber during the Order of Business after the Clare deputy got into a heated argument with Seán Barrett.
McNamara was aggrieved that the government was using the guillotine on legislation this week, including the International Protection Bill.
He said the use of the procedure, which effectively curtails Dáil debate on legislation, was not what he or Fine Gael deputies ran for office to do.
He was repeatedly told by the Ceann Comhairle that he was out of order and to resume his seat. But having failed to do so he was then repeatedly ordered to leave the chamber.
As he continued to protest, Barrett eventually named McNamara and called a vote which the government won by 66 votes to 44. However it was later read into the record as 65 to 43.
According to the Dáil seating plan McNamara appeared to vote to suspend himself but he later told TheJournal.ie that he had left the chamber by the time the vote was held.
It’s not the first time the rebel TD has fallen foul of the government.
He was expelled from the Labour parliamentary party earlier this year when he defied the government in a vote on the sale of Aer Lingus.
He was later readmitted and selected to run for re-election for Labour in Clare next year.
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