Misleading the Dáil

elacsaplau

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Anybody have any information on:

- the implications of a Minister misleading the Dáil?

- the test/criteria of what constitutes "misleading"......as in when does evasiveness move into the realm of misleading?
 
I would imagine it depends on the circumstances. If it was a genuine mistake, if he/she had been given incorrect information or if what they said could be misconstrued then I expect they would simply correct the record by making a follow up statement. That is not uncommon

however if they lied then they could be open to a motion of censure and possibly their party leader could take action including expulsion from a party. (obviously irrelevant for an independent). My understanding is a TD can only be removed if jailed for more then 6 months, not sure if the bankruptcy rule still applies
 
There was a proposal to implement legislation around this in Wales last year, the Journal ran a poll at the time asking whether we should consider similar legislation. I take that as meaning there is no legislation governing this currently in place. So it's more an ethics / [broken link removed] thing.
 
There is strong constitutional protection for TDs to say anything they like in the Dáil, and rightly so in my opinion.

They can of course be criticised for misleading the Dáil, but that is a different matter.
 
There is strong constitutional protection for TDs to say anything they like in the Dáil, and rightly so in my opinion.


They can of course be criticised for misleading the Dáil, but that is a different matter.
Say "anything they like in the Dail" and rightly so in your opinion.
So are you happy for some T.D. to stand up and say
"Cremeegg is notorious for loitering in public toilets and approaching young boys"
(Unless its true of course)
 
I would be very unhappy of course, but I think it is an essential freedom.

We would know a lot less about Dennis O Brien business dealings, we would never have known about the numerous Garda scandals, without it.
 
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