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SO, WHO SHOULD be the next Ceann Comhairle?
Well, it’s not up to you.
The Ceann Comhairle, or chairperson, is chosen by their peers to be an impartial figure that moderates debates and silences or sanctions TDs if they speak out of turn.
Secret voting is currently underway as one of the first orders of business of the 34th Dáil.
Competing for the highly-coveted (and well-paid) position are outgoing Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl, fellow Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness, Independent TD Verona Murphy and Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh.
Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have instructed members to vote for Murphy, a member of the Regional Independent Group that the parties want to form a coalition with.
However, some party members have pushed back and, since it’s a secret vote, it’s all to play for.
Have you been tuning in to the hopefuls’ speeches? We want to know how you think they did.
You can rate each candidate out of ten below by using the sliding scale. Click ‘Rate now’ to compare your answer with readers’ average rating.
Fianna Fáil’s John McGuinness began his pitch to be the next Ceann Comhairle by stating that some believe that who gets the job can be decided upon by political parties, who try to control the outcome. However, he reminded the House that the rules were changed in 2016 to make it a secret ballot.
McGuinness reminded the TDs of his role as committee chair in the past, and referenced cases he worked on such as the Maurice McCabe controversy and the Grace case, as well as dealing with vulture funds and the tracker mortgage scandal.
He reminded those in the chamber that in his view, the Dáil chamber can be sidelined, by those in government, the cabinet and party leaders. The House and its members has to be “cautious”, he said. The peoples’ trust in the Dáil must be restored, said McGuinness.
Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh spoke as Gaeilge for one half of his speech, telling the House, that in his view, the person who holds the Ceann Comhairle position should be proficient in the Irish language.
Murphy was the only candidate who did not use the Irish language in some of her speech.
Ó Snodaigh told the TDs that he had reached out to some in the soon-to-be government benches to plead for their vote, stating that he hoped they would see fit to back him.
He said the next Ceann Comhairle should know the rules and procedures of the House from day one and the person should not “seeking the limelight” for themselves. In what could be seen as a swipe at Murphy, he said the person who gets the job “must be unquestionably independent from government”, adding that this job is not in the gift of the Taoiseach this time.
Wexford TD Verona Murphy, who is tipped to take the top job, after Micheál Martin and Simon Harris’s endorsements, began by stating the role will be “challenging” to the person who gets it.
She quoted former politicial Avril Doyle, who said the politics is the last bloodsport, but Murphy said the wounds do heal for those who were successful in getting a seat. No one’s mandate is above another, she told the House, stating that she also feels that the public are disengaging with the political system, something she said must be fixed.
She said some people believe the Dáil chamber is just a “talking shop”, but she would like to “reform” the way the Dáil does its business, to ensure everyone’s voice is heard.
Seán Ó Fearghaíl began by stating that it was strange to be see the chamber from the backbenches, having sat in the Ceann Comhairle seat for so long.
He told the House that he was encouraged by members to seek another term, but added “I am beginning to wonder if that was such a good idea after all”. Politics is never boring, he proclaimed.
He ran over his allotted five minutes speaking time, but said that those that are voting in the secret ballot face a “difficult choice”. Ó Fearghaíl also spoke about the low election turnout in some areas, telling TDs that there was need for the public to feel more engaged.
He also used strong language when speaking about the challenges ahead, stating that there is a need to address collectively on behalf of the Irish people the “murderous regimes” of Putin, Nethanyahu “and other dictators”.
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It’s illegal to not allow a 15 minute paid break after 4 1/2 hours work. Disappointing to see tesco dragging their feet about breaking the law
It’s simple folks, if you disagree with this – and you damn well should, don’t shop there. When these stores begin to see even a tiny drop in their profits they’ll suddenly find their conscience.
Or they will close it and all the jobs are gone.
@Ger As long as it’s profitable they won’t, but would you seriously want this threat held over our heads forever? We have to allow jobs like this, with low pay and illegal conditions, we have to take the crumbs from the table and suffer in silence, be grateful for it or else we’ll have no jobs at all. Seriously???
Meanwhile these stores won’t reveal their profits in Ireland, they won’t let us know just how much they’re making here but they have to do so in the UK by law. Why do you think that is?
If we enforced our legislation properly (which we more or less are above) there won’t be a need to boycott anything
No 2 FF/FG while it’s illegal not to allow a break, it’s my understanding that it doesn’t have to be a PAID break in all cases. It depends on the contract.
Ger
They won’t close.
They will pay up and they all should pay up. In the meantime we should boycott Tesco or at least spend less there.
Every little helps!
@Ger. People will not stop shopping – they’ll just go elsewhere, and the staff will follow them to where there is better working conditions.
Tesco have been making huge profits here for many many years – way above the rate in UK arm of company. They can afford to pay the staff.
Tesco should be fined as well as forced to give back pay.
Thats correct Jimmyjoe. But in this case they were treating one group of employees different. They were discriminated against in that all the other people who do the exact same job in the company get paid breaks, yet they were singled out.
Had it been in your job and two people sit side-by-side doing exactly the same work, and one gets paid for the 15min break and the other doesnt, that would be discriminatory too.
The Conrad hotel does not pay staff for breaks ,also pays normal rates for working Christmas Day ,it’s been getting away with this for years .
Report them
Conrad hotel is no different so to the rest of the Hospitality Sector. Most of them anyway.
No hotel or restaurant pays breaks, I haven’t had a paid break in 15 years, get over it!!
I even worked in one place, who took the hour pay out of your wages, and still no break was given!! Ha!!
On another note, are all employees entitled to Sunday premium pay in all employment sectors, does anyone know?
There are some exemptions. Chefs for instance. Chefs also never get a decent break and eat standing up in the kitchen when things quieten down for 2 mins. Its an industry wide thing in chefing.
No
I think companies can decide to pay you extra on Sundays, but they’re not obliged to.
They should pay up in total, if they don’t it’ll set a precedent and the likes of tescos will say no pay for breaks and when brought to court pay a percentage of the pay due and be financially better of than if they pay the full amount.
They should Tesco and sue the miserable b’stards!
Any improvements over at Dunne’s?? I’ve boycotted them for about 2 years now. Miss my vouchers. Wouldn’t mind a rummage round.
Full time contracts are still “on the table” no indication whether they’ll ever be picked up and actually given to staff
My boycott amounted to nothing so Ryan….
Tescos ‘Every little helps ‘ except if you work for them !!
Should everybody get paid breaks.my two breaks are unpaid on a 9 hour shift ? If so I’ll be due 10 years compensation
Yeah you’re supposed to get fifteen minutes paid break if you’ve worked 4.5 hours.
Just sent an email to siptu to try clarify it
Yes, you are entitled to a break of 15 minutes after a 4 ½ hour work period but there is no entitlement to be paid during these breaks and they are not considered part of your working time.
As it says in the article the paid breaks are part of Tesco’s own company guidelines, hence the legal action.
I doubt that the Bailieboro store is even making a profit…unlike the Tesco store in Cavan town where the workers appear to take their break outside on the pavement.
have your say