24 DFómh 2014, 16:39
Further to legal advice received by members of the Technical Group and by way of response to it, the following is the actual situation with regard to membership of a Technical Group in Dáil Éireann.
It is the function of the Ceann Comhairle to interpret and apply the rules of the House in accordance with Standing Orders. In performing this function the Ceann Comhairle is obliged to have regard to various matters, including and in particular the principles of equality of participation, impartiality and fairness. Since taking Office , the Ceann Comhairle has advocated on several occasions that it is a fundamental right of all democratically elected members to speak in the House and he is extremely mindful of his obligation to uphold the rights and privileges of all members in accordance with the constitution and the standing orders of Dáil Éireann. To suggest otherwise is simply wrong.
By way of further clarification, any member who meets the criteria as set out in standing order 120 and informs the Ceann Comhairle that they have joined a Technical Group automatically becomes a member of that group.
The advice received by certain members of the Technical Group now confirms what the Houses of the Oireachtas Service has been telling them all along - namely that a member who has severed all links with his/her party is eligible to join the group.
It should also be noted that nowhere in Standing Orders does it say that a Technical Group can exclude a member who wishes to join. Indeed if that were the case we could have a situation where the majority of non-aligned members could oppress the rights of the minority. That alone would breach the principle of equal participation in the workings of the National Parliament.
On a separate note, it has been repeatedly made clear that the appropriate forum to raise matters regarding the rules of the Dail is the procedures committee of the House (CPP) of which Deputy Murphy is a member. To date Deputy Murphy has not sought to raise the issue with the very committee which oversees the rules (Standing Orders) of the Dáil.
In essence, a simple point of principle that overrides all opinion and any confusion arising out of it is that everyone elected to our parliament has the right to speak and nothing can undermine that democratic principle.
The technical group is no more than a technical mechanism that has existed for decades in the rules of the Dáil. It is essentially a speaking rights mechanism and should not be confused with a political party.
ENDS/
Further information:
Verona Ni Bhroinn, Communications Unit, 087 2624132