13 chairs were hauled into the TV3 studios for last night’s Carlow-Kilkenny debate. They were lucky candidates didn’t start hitting each other with them.
The party is under pressure this morning over its response to the report of the Smithwick Tribunal which found collusion over the murder of two RUC officers by the IRA.
Micheál Martin has also said he has been invited by TV3 and Vincent Browne to debate Seanad abolition with the Taoiseach next week, in addition to the planned Prime Time debate on Tuesday.
The Irish Independent claimed today that its political editor has been banned from the programme following a heated exchange between the pair on Monday.
The prospect of the ultimate odd couple touring European capitals is not dead despite the programme not coming to our screens before Christmas as had been hoped.
LAST NIGHT WAS significant one in the lifetime of the FF-FG-Green coalition government.
With Fine Gael’s Joe McHugh voting against the government and losing the party whip, the number of TDs on the government benches has dropped to 79. The government may still be able to pass legislation but things have got a bit tighter.
The potential for charges had raised questions over whether Varadkar could become Taoiseach again in December. As part of the Coalition deal, the position of Taoiseach will “rotate” from Fianna Fail to Fine Gael in December 2022 for the final two years of the government’s term. But should that plan continue?