Naughten defeated in Ceann Comhairle bid

Roscommon-Galway TD Denis Naughten has been defeated in a vote in the Dáil today for the position of Ceann Comhairle (chairperson) of the house.

The Drum native was one of two candidates for the full-time role, with the other being Fianna Fáil TD Seán Ó Fearghaíl, who served as Ceann Comhairle during the four-year term of the previous Government.

The secret ballot to elect the Ceann Comhairle was the first item of business for the 33rd Dáil, with Deputy Ó Fearghaíl receiving 130 votes and Deputy Naughten 28 votes. While all 160 TDs were present in the Dáil, the valid poll was 158; two votes were deemed invalid as no first preference had been indicated on them.

In a speech to the house prior to today's vote, Deputy Naughten pointed to his experiences as a TD over the years, stating that he had been both a Minister and a member of the opposition, both a party representative and an Independent.

"I understand every perspective in this house because I've lived it," he said.

He argued that accountability to the Dáil was being slowly eroded and he wanted to be a Ceann Comhairle who would address this.

Deputy Naughten also highlighted concerns about GDPR (data privacy regulations) being misused in order to "avoid answering legitimate questions by TDs".