'This takes the biscuit' - Opposition parties united over Dáil speaking time controversy
The leaders of the five opposition parties have said they will send an "agreed text" to the government this Wednesday night regarding the ongoing controversy over Dáil speaking time.
As the Dáil adjourned earlier this Wednesday amid the chaotic uproar in the chamber surrounding the allocation of speaking time to independent politicians who wish to form a 'technical group,' the country remains without a nominated Taoiseach and the opposition have unified in their stance on the controversy.
Speaking after the Dáil suspended for the day, Micheál Martin said: "What we witnessed today was the subversion of the Irish constitution.
"The most fundamental obligation of the Dáil is to elect a Taoiseach and indeed a government. That opportunity was denied today by a premeditated, coordinated and choreographed position by the opposition."
Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and Independent Ireland have come together to deny such accusations by the Fianna Fáil leader.
The leaders of the opposition groups spoke alongside each other on Wednesday evening in a show of unified support against the technical group of independent TDs being granted opposition speaking time.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the opposition "are not seeking simply to disrupt." McDonald added: "We will absolutely assert our rights as the opposition and to do the job that we are elected to do, that we are required to do for democracy to work."
Clapping back at Martin's claims, McDonald said: "The subversion of democracy is trying to pretend that you can be in government and in opposition at the same time."
Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik added that the opposition parties intend to send an "agreed text" to the government regarding the speaking time debacle.
Bacik said: "It's a mess that they can resolve. They can fix."
The Labour Party leader continued, saying: "We're sending them a text tonight, an agreed text from all five opposition leaders. It invites them to provide government speaking time to TDs who are government TDs. We believe that's an appropriate and indeed a democratic way of resolving this."
With no end in sight to this issue, it remains to be seen whether or not the nomination of the Taoiseach will be reached on Thursday morning when the Dáil resumes.