Dáil Sketch/Marie O'Halloran: There can be no doubting the lure of television, and of RTÉ in particular. The evidence was there in a rare sight in the Dáil yesterday. Almost two-thirds of the complement of 166 TDs braved the cameras for the first live broadcast of Opposition leaders' questions to the Taoiseach.
At 10.30 a.m., it was hardly prime-time television. Yet viewers obviously deserve to see their public representatives looking smartly groomed. The Dáil chamber was like a wildflower garden, redolent with attention-getting ties and striking scarves.
Of course, while TV may bring out the TDs, radio is far more powerful, at least according to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny.
Lobbing a verbal Shannon lump-hammer across the chamber, he said there had been two such hammer-attacks on a plane and the Government did nothing. An aircraft was daubed and the Government did nothing. But "an RTE reporter wandered into a restricted area unhindered and the Government sent in the Army".
In fact, so serious was the situation that a member of the "A Team" was literally sent into the Dáil. American actor Dirk Benedict, alias "Face" in the 1980s US action adventure series, marked the Taoiseach's back and sat in the distinguished visitors' gallery.
A Team viewers will remember that the action heroes specialised in James Bond-style stunts, including detonating landmines. Had he advised Bertie about dodging verbal landmines? In reality, the actor wants to be a politician - governor of Montana, in fact. So, was he learning from a master, as he watched the Taoiseach deftly evade skilfully placed verbal landmines?
Head bowed, one hand clutching the edge of the desk, the other arm stretched out, Bertie waited like a boxer for each blow, jumping skilfully to either avoid the hit or get in a parrying shot. Yesterday was a more defensive game, however, and there was no clear winner.
The Taoiseach did manage to side-step Enda Kenny's punch about the damage to Shannon's economy and reputation. No less than the US military commander in Europe was "quite happy" for his troops to use Shannon, he said.
He also side-stepped a potential landmine from the Labour leader, Pat Rabbitte, about what the then attorney general, Michael McDowell, really knew about the deal with the religious orders on clerical child abuse. The Taoiseach told him the Government's approach was to "do the best for the victims in terms of redressing the wrong done to them". That one, though, could be a rematch.