Troy is local TD with highest number of missed votes in Dáil

Westmeath TD Robert Troy failed to take part in 10 Dáil votes between March and the end of May, despite being 'clocked in' at Leinster House when the votes were taken. A national media report this week revealed that Deputy Troy was the Longford/Westmeath representative with the highest number of missed votes in the chamber during this period. A total of 24 votes were taken during this time, and the Fianna Fáil TD took part in 14 (or 58%) of them despite being clocked in when each one was held. Fine Gael TD James Bannon missed six votes while clocked in, whereas Athlone TD Nicky McFadden missed two. When contacted by this newspaper yesterday (Tuesday), Deputy Troy said there were a number of votes which Fianna Fáil had abstained from, such as the nomination of Enda Kenny as Taoiseach and the nomination of cabinet Ministers. He understood that these abstentions were recorded as missed votes and they probably accounted for "three or four" of the 10 he missed. The Ballynacargy native said there had also been a number of unscheduled votes called by the Government and he missed some of these as he may have been working on other issues or meeting members of the Arts community in his capacity as Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Arts and Heritage. TDs are required to 'fob in' electronically, or else sign in at an attendance book, in order to claim their travel and overnight expenses. Deputy Troy said: "When 'fobbed in' I am there for the duration of the day, and people can look at my speaking record. I have spoken on a variety of issues and I have been one of the most frequent contributors to the adjournment debates in the Dáil." In the Roscommon/ South Leitrim constituency Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan had the highest number of missed votes while clocked in. The Independent TD failed to take part in eight of the 24 Dáil votes for which figures are available. Deputy Denis Naughten missed three of the votes while his fellow TD from Roscommon, Frank Feighan, missed two.