Shortly before the Dáil adjourned on 9 March last, Deputy Larry McMahon complained that, in a division that afternoon, some Members had entered the Chamber through the door of the Press Gallery after I had directed that the doors of the Chamber be locked. I knew nothing of the incident at the time and promised to have the matter investigated.
I have since ascertained that Deputies Proinsias de Rossa, Paddy Gallagher and Joe Sherlock did in fact use the door of the Press Gallery to enter the Chamber after the doors had been locked and that, as a result, they were present and able to vote in the first division that day. The door in question, I am told, never has been locked for a division and its use for entry to the Chamber had never been foreseen. The Deputies in effect took advantage of an unforeseen loophole in the normal arrangements for a division.
No point of order was raised during the division; the four tellers signed the Division Paper and, in accordance with Standing Order 60, I announced the numbers on the paper and declared the decision. I have instructed that in future all doors leading into the Chamber are to be locked. There will not, therefore, be any further unorthodox entries into the Chamber during a division.
In explanation of their action, the Deputies have indicated that the two new Members failed to hear the bells owing to the noise of the crowd present that day and that all three were impeded in reaching the Chamber by the crowds thronging the hall, corridors and the marble stairway. From my own observation and from reports, I am satisfied that, to say the least, our visitor control arrangements were not strict enough. I am satisfied also that both in the House itself and in the visitors' gallery our security arrangements and safety precautions were put at risk. For the future protection both of Members and visitors, I have had an urgent review carried out to ensure that the number of visitors admitted to the House and to the Gallery on occasions on which there is great public interest in our proceedings be kept within safety limits and within a range that our resources in staff can control. The decisions on this review will be communicated to the Whips today.
