Sanctions available to the Chair

With the exception of "naming" a Member, which may lead to the Member being suspended from the House, if the House so decides, these sanctions are also available to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle or to a temporary chairperson who is deputising for the Ceann Comhairle.

Types of sanction

If the Leas-Cheann Comhairle or a temporary Chairperson considers that a Members' conduct is such as to warrant suspension, the Ceann Comhairle will be requested to come in to the House and the circumstances will be outlined to him or her.

A Member who persists in irrelevance or repetition in debate, or who, in the opinion of the Chair, is speaking for the purpose of obstructing business may be directed to finish speaking and resume his or her seat.

If a Member makes a defamatory reference, or uses unparliamentary language, he or she may be instructed to withdraw the remarks without qualification.

A Member whose conduct is "grossly disorderly" may be instructed to withdraw from the House for the remainder of the day’s sitting and he or she may not be readmitted to the Chamber for any purpose, including voting, for the rest of the day. This does not affect the Member’s right to attend any committee meetings that he or she is entitled to attend.

Naming a Member

If the Ceann Comhairle considers that the Member’s conduct is such that the sanctions above are not adequate to deal with it, he or she may "name" the Member concerned for misconduct.

Naming the Member involves putting the Question "That [Deputy X] be suspended from the service of the Dáil" and it is then for the House to decide. However, Standing Orders specify that a vote on such a question may be called for only in exceptional circumstances, since calling a vote reflects adversely on the Chair's judgement in naming the Member.

As in the case of being ordered to withdraw from the Chamber, a Member who is named is not allowed to re-enter the Chamber for any purpose other than for the purpose of voting in a division on the question of their suspension until the suspension period has expired. He or she is also prohibited from attending committee meetings.

The suspension periods are:

Disorder

If there should be great disorder in the Chamber, the Ceann Comhairle may adjourn the Dáil without having to put the question to the House, or suspend the sitting for any period of time at his or her discretion.