Mattie McGrath Objects to Surprise Government Motion on Ukraine
Mattie McGrath spoke about a last-minute government motion and objected to how it was brought onto the parliamentary floor. He said he missed the business meeting, criticised the short notice and reported an 'incorporeal cabinet meeting' had signed off on the motion.
Meeting and objection
McGrath said he and his group first heard of the motion when it came on the floor and objected to that approach. He asked that the Taoiseach be heard and noted the matter was new to him and his colleagues.
Short notice and cabinet sign-off
He described the notice as short and not best practice and said there had been an incorporeal cabinet meeting that morning to sign off on the motion. He added the government motion was brief and that members would have time to read it before the later debate.
Business committee disagreement
McGrath said an attempt at the business committee to agree a party motion failed because some members wanted to include language that he said was not fully supportive of Ukraine. He acknowledged those members were entitled to hold their views, which prevented an all-party agreement.
Government motion and parliamentary procedure
He reported the government decided to table its own motion after the committee could not reach consensus. McGrath noted the government is free to put down motions, as other parties may also table motions and private members' bills, and said there would be time for discussion later in the day.
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Cancone, I missed the business meeting last Thursday, but from what I heard of the account, that is what had happened, let's go back to this week's meeting to be discussed and hopefully get a unanimous agreement on it, so this is the first I have heard of this now, our whole group have heard of it, coming on the floor like this and I object to that. Please now, can we hear the Taoiseach? I appreciate it, it is short notice and I appreciate that it is not best practice, there was an incorporeal cabinet meeting this morning to sign off on the motion, there was an attempt, I understand, at the business committee to agree on a party motion that was not possible, because some members wanted to include language that was not fully supportive of Ukraine in our view, this matter was discussed to cabinet and there not being the possibility of agreeing an all party motion because of the views of the views of certain members, which they are entitled to hold, the government decided to put down its own motion, it is very short, you can read it in a minute or two, there will be plenty of time for people to do that before we have the discussion later on today, but it is, it is, you know, the government is free to put down its own motions, you know, we don't, we don't stop, we don't stop other parties putting down their motions and private members' bills and the government government is free to put in a motion if it's our wishes.
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