I move: "That Deputy Ring be suspended from the service of the Dáil."
Suspension of Member.
When you quote the Standing Order, I will then leave the House.
Is the motion opposed?
Deputies
Yes.
I am obliged to put the question.
This is outrageous carry-on.
It is not outrageous carry-on. It is in accordance with the rules of the House.
It is scandalous how you are carrying on.
On a point of order, I wish to make the point——
The division in accordance with Standing Orders may not be taken now. However, in accordance with all precedents of this House Deputy Ring must now leave.
I will not leave the House now.
I will suspend the House for ten minutes.
Sitting suspended at 5.50 p.m. and resumed at 6 p.m.
I note Deputy Ring has still not left the House. I will ask him one more time to leave the House.
A Cheann Comhairle, on a point of order——
If Deputy Ring is not prepared to leave the House, I propose to adjourn the proceedings for a further ten minutes.
That is fine, a Cheann Comhairle.
The sitting is suspended for a further ten minutes.
Sitting suspended at 6.01 p.m. and resumed at 6.10 p.m.
I will explain to Members the reason for my decision to name Deputy Ring. It was because Deputy Ring imputed unfairness to the Chair. No such allegation can be made in the House against the Chair. It is my function to be fair to every Member of the House, irrespective of his or her political persuasion or none, and I have sought to do this. The difficulty is that Deputy Ring persisted in saying I was making the rules up as I was going along. Nothing could be further from the truth. The position is set out very clearly in Standing Order 9. I could not take the amendment proposed by Deputy Kenny. I again reassure Members that it is not possible for the Chair to accept an imputation like that. It is not possible to have the integrity of the Chair undermined in that way because if that were to happen, the integrity of the House itself would be undermined and I could not stand for that. I must again ask Deputy Ring to leave the House.
I will leave the House. The Ceann Comhairle already named a Member of this House today three times and did not ask that Member to leave the House. He did not quote to me the Standing Order he used in respect of the imposition of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I will leave this House under protest on the basis that if the Ceann Comhairle continues in the way in which he has been continuing, there will be a vote of no confidence in him quicker than he knows. I am leaving the House under protest. I did nothing wrong and was treated unfairly in this House today.
On a point of order, it would seem that in the excitement the Ceann Comhairle inadvertently forgot No. 5. It has not been dealt with.
I have not yet finished with No. 4.