Amid the spin, obfuscation, arguments, upcoming no-confidence motion, reaction and criticism that characterises the current Dáil, reflection on why certain key figures involved are involved at all has been lacking.

It’s clear that this does not matter to the Government, but the political careers of Verona Murphy and Michael Lowry might have been dead in the water long before either politician found themselves embroiled in this shambles. While both arefairly and democratically elected by their constituents, why elevate them?

Lowry’s scandals are well-documented: the Moriarty tribunal, the McCracken tribunal, tax evasion, his resignation from Fine Gael. This is who this Government decided to throw its lot in with. Make of that what you will.

But what about Murphy’s controversy? During the 2019 Wexford by-election, when she was running as a Fine Gael candidate, she caused chaos for the party. She invoked a conspiracy theory that immigrants coming to Ireland were “infiltrated by Isis”, or the Islamic State, and said that Isis was a “big part” of the immigrant population in Ireland.

When this generated inevitable and fair........

© The Irish Times