The Irish parliament descended into shouting and laughter when a politician called Taoiseach Micheal Martin a “disgrace” for making an accusation over health care.
The fiery exchange took place during Leaders’ Questions in the Dail on Tuesday afternoon.
The Taoiseach took aim at independent MD Danny Healy Rae over a bus service put on from Cork and Kerry to Belfast for patients needing cataract surgery.
Mr Martin alleged that Mr Healy Rae and other politicians were gaining politically by providing their constituents with the service, claiming that it had been a “game changer electorally”.
In answer to questions about the bus trips, the Taoiseach said: “I was reliably informed that Deputy Healy Rae approached people outside a mass to say I can get you on the bus if you want a cataract.”
In response to the allegation, Mr Healy Rae, who represents the Kerry constituency, angrily replied that the Taoiseach was a “disgrace” and told him to “take that back”.
‘Goddammit, that is an awful thing to say. Smirking and laughing as if it is all a bit of a joke. You wouldn’t be laughing if someone belonging to you was going blind,” he added.
Michael Collins, the Cork South West TD, who had raised the issue in parliament, also criticised Mr Martin’s comments, saying they made “a mockery of the people who are suffering".
The Taoiseach later apologised for causing offence and said he wanted services to improve so that people would not have to travel all the way to Belfast for treatment.
Additional reporting from PA
