Seanad report:Eoghan Harris, a nominee of the Taoiseach, caused problems for Seanad administrators when it was found that he had voted for and against the Government on whether yesterday's business schedule should be changed.
Ivana Bacik (Ind) wanted an emergency debate with a view to having cockle fishing regulations amended. When this was opposed by the Government side, she called for a vote.
Mr Harris, who sits as an Independent, initially voted with the Government, but shortly afterwards he also went in to the Opposition lobby. He later explained that he had done so absent-mindedly.
The Government won the vote, but when Mr Harris's double vote came to light, the voting tellers were summoned to a meeting with Seanad clerk Deirdre Lane, and Ms Bacik accepted that Mr Harris had unwittingly sided with the Opposition.
The result was amended accordingly.
Somebody was lying through their teeth over who knew what and when about the Aer Lingus decision to switch from Shannon to Belfast, Liam Twomey (FG) said.
While he was not surprised that Ministers would be complacent in finding out about matters, that was not the same as the idea that senior civil servants would not inform their Ministers about what was going on, when they clearly understood the importance of it. That three senior Ministers from the Departments of Transport and the Marine, Finance and the Taoiseach did not know what was going on regarding Shannon was not believable. "I believe somebody is lying. That should be made clear to the public. Somebody is lying on this issue and it needs to be cleared up," said Mr Twomey.
Marc MacSharry (FF) said it was unparliamentary to accuse somebody of lying.
Joe O'Toole (Ind) called for the establishment of a committee of the House to inquire into what had happened in relation to the Aer Lingus/Shannon issue.
Shane Ross (Ind) said the Byzantine manoeuvres of civil servants supposedly to protect their Ministers was something that should be of concern to them as legislators. Members of the House had recently debated the Shannon issue, but they had done so with incomplete information. There was no point in the Seanad debating issues such as Shannon if it was being kept in the dark over vital matters.