Opposition leaders have told the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil that they have no confidence in her.
The move against Verona Murphy comes following a meeting of the leaders of the main opposition parties on Wednesday morning to discuss their response after the Dáil was disrupted on Tuesday amid an acrimonious row on speaking time changes.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald told the Dáil during Leaders' Questions that the Ceann Comhairle’s position is now “untenable”.
Ms McDonald said Ms Murphy’s actions during chaotic scenes in the Dáil on Tuesday were “demonstrably partisan and lack the impartiality and independence demanded of your position”.
She said: “So, who convinced you to play your part in this disgraceful charade, or is it simply that bias for the Government is baked into the very deal that secured your position?
“That is now the question.”
The Sinn Féin leader continued: “Ceann Comhairle, not alone have you lost the confidence of the entire opposition; you have, in fact, decimated it.
“The Dáil cannot function properly whilst you remain in the chair.
“Above all the Ceann Comhairle must be impartial, fair and independent, and by your actions you have demonstrated that you are not. “Your position is therefore untenable.
“So, I ask you to reflect very carefully on this, because you need to go.”
Ms McDonald later said she would move a formal motion of no-confidence if necessary.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin accused Sinn Fein of pursuing a “destructive model of opposition” and trying to bring the “loudhailer politics of the street” into the Dáil.
Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik also asked Ms Murphy to reflect on her position over the coming days.
She told the Dáil: “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 and you did so as part, apparently, of a pre-arranged, set-up orchestration with government.”
Ms Bacik said she did not believe Dáil rules had been applied “fairly and impartially”.
She added: “That is why this morning, together with my parliamentary party, we agreed to ask you to reflect on your position over coming days.
“If not, if necessary, we will have no option to table a motion of no confidence in you. And I regret that it has come to this.”
The Taoiseach then accused Ms Bacik of “parroting” Sinn Féin’s line. “You’ve tied yourself to the hip of Sinn Féin and you’ll regret it,” he said.
The developments come after chaotic scenes of shouting, interruptions and allegations of misogyny on Tuesday as weeks of tension over the speaking rights row boiled over during Leaders’ Questions.
Ms Murphy faced continual interruptions as she tried to continue proceedings on Tuesday as opposition TDs took to their feet and objected to the Government’s proposals to change speaking time arrangements.
She declared the changes to the standing orders passed before adjourning the Dáil early.
The row has its origins in the formation of the current coalition involving Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, supported by several independent TDs.
Some of those Independents have been appointed as junior ministers while the others had sought to join an opposition technical group for the purposes of speaking time, despite supporting the formation of Government.
The controversial changes to standing orders include the creation of new speaking slots for coalition backbenchers and Government-aligned independents, a reduction of time for contributions on debating the order of business, and a halving of slots for Taoiseach’s Questions.
Opposition parties are vehemently opposed to the changes, characterising them as an attempt to dilute their ability to hold the Government to account and to blur the relationship between the Independents who have supported the formation of the coalition.
The dispute delayed Micheál Martin’s nomination as Taoiseach in January and has trundled on despite several inter-party meetings and the intervention of the Ceann Comhairle, in favour of the opposition.
Tensions boiled over on Tuesday with the Dáil witnessing angry scenes as Ms Murphy presided over a vote on the changes.
Mr Martin has accused the opposition of trying to bully and intimidate Ms Murphy, and said it “marked a new low” for the opposition.
“The prolonged barracking and the disgraceful lack of respect for the mandates of elected deputies was shocking in its intensity,” he said.
He said the actions of opposition have been “completely disproportionate over what is essentially an additional eight minutes of speaking time on two days in the Dáil”.
“The opposition have not lost a single minute of their time or ability to hold government to account,” he said.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said the disruption was “regrettable, unseemly and unbecoming”.
Mr Harris said the level of anger displayed by the opposition was “disproportionate” and did not “indicate a willingness to try and find a way forward here”.
Speaking to reporters in Lebanon, Mr Harris said the public wanted to see elected representatives work on the issues facing Ireland, including housing, economic headwinds from the EU-US trade dispute and the safety of Irish peacekeepers abroad.
“What has happened in the Dáil is really regrettable, really unbecoming, really unseemly, but we’ve got to move forward now, because I think the people who pay our wages, our bosses, the people of Ireland, want us to get on with it,” he said.
Asked if Government could do anything to ameliorate opposition concerns, he suggested the re-establishment of committees may see a return to cross-party work.
“The Dáil needs to get into that rhythm now,” said Mr Harris.
He added: “We need to move on and restore decorum in the Dail chamber.”
Asked about an incident during Tuesday’s session in which Government-supporting independent TD Michael Lowry raised two fingers up to members of the opposition, Mr Harris said: “I think that was also unseemly and unbecoming, but I think that behaviour wasn’t isolated to any one deputy.
“Because I think when you have grown men standing up and shouting and roaring at the Ceann Comhairle and refusing to follow her direction – a person who was elected to implement the rules of the House.
“You know the rules are very simple.
“When the Ceann Comhairle stands up, you sit down.
“And to see adults standing up, shouting and roaring, hooping and hollering, isn’t anything you’d want see in any workplace, least of all the Dáil.”
