There was a tone of weary resignation from the Coalition leaders in advance of the Opposition buffeting
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar arrives at Áras an Uachtaráin on Wednesday for the meeting of the Council of State. Photograph: Nick BradshawRespite at last from the national pain in the head brought on by endless talk about what was or wasn’t going to be in it.Don’t call me Ryan - Ceann Comhairle gets his RTÉ presenters mixed up
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was informed he had 20 minutes of speaking time, which seemed an optimistic target after he opened with a riveting anecdote about William T Cosgrave presenting the Dáil’s first budget in 1923 and something to do with Ardnacrusha and hydroelectric power and a young engineer from Drogheda who did a stint in Siemens in Germany and how “Ireland is fully in control of her own destiny”.
“The Taoiseach and Tánaiste here today talked about the Opposition giving out about the budget before it was even announced. The funny thing is – this is one of the most leaked budgets in the history of the State. It’s a common practice now, so we all knew most of the details anyway beforehand.” Given his prominence in the media “and his pretence of being a housing visionary”, it is remarkable that Sinn Féin hasn’t published a full housing policy, just a series of housing soundbites, he remarked.Micheál attacked the “growing level of entitled arrogance” of Sinn Féin, which was seen over and over again on budget day, “perhaps most starkly when a senior spokesperson told a female Minister of State that they would ‘put manners on her’“.
Eamon kept talking. The Tánaiste threw out an arm to attract his attention with agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue siting between the two of them, oblivious. “I wish them well,” he said with a knowing smile as they left for their appointment with President Michael D Higgins, in the way one might wish somebody well before a root-canal session at the dentist.
By the time Mary Lou got her chance to respond, that handful of colleagues was now an impressive turnout of almost 30 Sinn Féin deputies, filling the benches in a video-clip friendly show of support.
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