TDs need bigger buttons to revive interest in Dáil votes

Those who are even mildly surprised at the so-called Vote-gate scandal must never in their lives have seen Oireachtas TV – because if they did, they’d know that you’d normally see larger crowds queuing for takeaway coffee.

This guaranteed cure for insomniacs covers Dáil and Seanad sittings, but there are times when you’re watching it, the best craic is trying to spot the Deputy – and if they’re there, you have to determine if they’re awake.

At the other end of the equation, you know that there are few of our elected representatives who do not max out on their allowances and expenses – so clearly there was a problem in squaring that circle.

Of course, you don’t have to sit in the Dáil Chamber to be present in Leinster House to claim your allowances, and there is plenty of constituency work to be done on the phone.

But you do then wonder why they bother sitting at all – given that the most they could possibly be there for is three days a week, when they’re there at all.

This year the Dáil will rise on December 18 for the Christmas recess and resume business on January 15. At either end of that equation, that means going into and out of leave on a two-day week.

They will depart for Easter on April 9 and return on April 27, giving them the guts of a three-week break. And the summer break begins on July 9 so they can return refreshed in the middle of September.

The Dáil never sits on Mondays or Fridays anyway, which is somewhat understandable given that the vast majority of the TD’s don’t live in Dublin and need to be about their constituency business.

But if you attended diligently for every day the Dáil sat, you’d have filled 101 days out of the 365 in a year – and even allowing for weekend breaks and annual leave, that does not constitute a hectic schedule.

But why waste so much time when you can pool your resources and get one fella to go in and press all the buttons he likes; a sort of political version of PlayStation, albeit with greater potential consequences.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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