We move now to Deputy Bacik.

What happened in the Dáil yesterday is without precedent. Yesterday, the Taoiseach and his Government rammed through a scheme to create a sort of new sham Opposition. Let us be clear: the so-called "Other Members' Questions" is a contrivance manufactured purely to placate the Lowry lobby. The regional Independent group, led by Deputy Michael Lowry, is patently stitched into this Government. It helped to construct the programme for Government and some of its members are now Ministers of State. However, it now seems they are to be designated as Opposition in all but name. What does that mean? It means the Standing Orders of our national Parliament have been rearranged in the service of cute hoorism, a grubby stroke driven by the Taoiseach and his Government. In every sense, two fingers have been shown to the Opposition and to the people of this country, because as of yesterday a fundamental principle has been subverted. That is the simple truth that you cannot be in government and in opposition at the same time. The Taoiseach subverted that fundamental principle of the separation of powers.

What happened yesterday is a disgrace. Throughout my career, I have been proud to work constructively and collaboratively across party lines. My colleagues here beside me on the Labour Party benches are the same. This is the Labour Party that I lead. We want to use our voices in the Dáil to represent our communities, to raise the issues that matter to the communities we represent, who are concerned about the housing crisis, the climate catastrophe, disability rights, Trump's threatened tariffs, yes, and of course hideous global conflict. These are the matters we should all be focusing on. That is why we in the Labour Party worked hard over recent weeks, with others, to try to achieve a resolution and to avoid the farce that unfolded yesterday. We tried to work with the Taoiseach and his Fine Gael colleagues to secure a resolution that would be agreeable to Government and Opposition TDs. Indeed, that was in the terms of the agreement made and read out by Hildegarde Naughton in this House on 23 January. Instead of respecting the Opposition's constitutional duty to hold the Government to account, and instead of honouring that agreement to make a compromise, an agreement that was made in good faith, the Taoiseach arrogantly ploughed on. He has undermined basic standards of parliamentary accountability.

This affair has tarnished the Taoiseach and his Government, and now it has tarnished the office of Ceann Comhairle. A Cheann Comhairle, yesterday you deemed the Order of Business passed, despite resounding calls of dissent from the Opposition benches. Without any legitimate democratic basis, you deemed that passed. You did so apparently as part of a prearranged set-up orchestrated with the Government.

A prearranged what?

A Cheann Comhairle, you have a duty to apply the rules fairly and impartially under Standing Orders. I deeply regret to say after what we saw yesterday that I do not believe you applied the rules in that matter. That is why this morning, together with my parliamentary party, we agreed to ask you to reflect on your position over the coming days. If necessary, we will have no option but to table a motion of no confidence in you.

Thank you, Deputy. Your time is up.

I regret that it has come to this.

I will say to the Deputy that the Chief Whip worked extremely hard for over 20 hours with the Whips of other parties to resolve this particular issue.

That is disingenuous.

This is a sham.

By any stretch of the imagination it is stretching credibility to suggest that the resolution put forward by the Chief Whip in any way confers Opposition status on other TDs. I outlined that earlier when I reminded Deputy McDonald that in other parliaments it is a matter of form and norm that non-government deputies and government deputies who are not officeholders get to ask questions. The Deputy wants to deny that. What is the underlying issue here? That question has been asked. The underlying issue here is the formation of the Government.

The underlying issue is Michael Lowry.

Deputies, allow the Taoiseach to speak.

I remember reading the Irish Independent some time ago. Let us be honest - the only group of people who wanted to help to facilitate a Government was the regional Independents.

You could not wait to do a deal with them as the quickest route to office.

You did not even talk to us.

The headline in the newspaper read:

'We'll meet big three, but with no intention of going into government' - Ivana Bacik rules Labour out of coalition.

According to the article, it is recorded in the minutes of the Labour Party's national executive that they "will meet the big three as a courtesy, but with no intention of going into government".

Given the strokes you have pulled, we are glad we did not.

Please.

That is the reality facing the Dáil.

Deflect, deflect, deflect.

The Labour Party had no sincerity about going into government, and neither did the Social Democrats. The Regional Independent Group wanted a Government formed. That is the bottom line here. There is an obligation to form a Government. Now, may I say-----

Deputies, please.

-----just because people keep making false assertions-----

Such as 40,000 houses.

-----that the Chief Whip never gave a nod?

You pontificate but you never answer the question.

The nod became a thumbs-up.

Sure we saw it.

This is all Sinn Féin-speak, and now Deputy Bacik is parroting it. The Labour Party has tied itself to the hip of Sinn Féin and will regret it.

The Taoiseach has tied himself to Deputy Michael Lowry and will regret it.

I know the Labour Party a long time. I know a lot of ordinary Labour Party supporters who are not happy with the way it has become an appendage to the Sinn Féin Party.

We are around a lot longer than you guys.

Deputies, please.

When Deputy Bacik used the phrase "prearranged"-----

Do not patronise the Labour Party.

-----she was parroting the Sinn Féin false assertion.

It was prearranged.

I do not mind Deputy Bacik having a different view - of course we all have different views and different perspectives - but-----

Are you saying it was not prearranged?

-----she cannot make deliberately false assertions, just generally.

It is not false.

It is not false.

It is false.

It is not false.

There was nothing preconceived. The Ceann Comhairle has a responsibility that the business of the House gets done. The new tactic is this: if we shout loud enough, if we stop everybody on the Government side from talking and if we create mayhem and chaos, the Ceann Comhairle must then adjourn the Dáil and we get our way.

That cannot be the new precedent either but that is what Sinn Féin has been doing from the very start.

Yesterday, I acknowledged that Deputy Bacik stayed quiet at the beginning and allowed me speak and so on. Deputy Kelly broke loose at the end.

Broke loose.

The Deputy could not contain himself any longer. They stood up and joined the new-----

The Taoiseach has lost the run of himself. He is making it worse.