*Cathal Crowe TD (FF). Photograph: Joe Buckley
WHILE DÁIL ÉIREANN has been labelled as housing many leaks during its 103 year history, a literal leak got in the way of a Clare TD’s address on Wednesday.
It wasn’t trickle down economics nor was it an attempt to get all politicians awake but rather an effect of the heavy downpours which caused a leak from the roof of the Dáil Chamber that had a slight disruption to the order of business on Wednesday.
Deputy Cathal Crowe (FF) told The Clare Echo, “I was in the middle of a Dáil speech about the famous oak trees from Cratloe Woods (and mentioned that the beams in Westminster came from Cratloe) when you couldn’t make it up, the roof of the Dáil chamber sprung a leak”. He described the incident as a perfect example of Murphy’s law.
The roof of the Dáil chamber is leaking… 🌂 @McConnellDaniel @aoifegracemoore @LouiseByrneNews @sandra_hurley @JOEdotie @MichealLehane pic.twitter.com/Am2eAuQrhV
— Cathal Crowe T.D. (@CathalCroweTD) October 19, 2022
He outlined that the water was “pouring down on some of the front benches”. Crowe added, “I don’t have much hair left at the top of my head but I was worried that the microphone might shock”.
“We’ve had plenty of leaks around the Dáil but this is the first water leak we’ve had,” the Meelick native said. “As we were debating we could see it flash up with bolts of lightning as there’s quite a nasty storm brewing out there. There’s a big glass dome in the top of it [the roof] and the water is coming from there. Hopefully they’ll patch this up with a bit of duct tape and get us going again”.
Leinster House was renovated in 2019 in a project that went €2m over its €15m budget.
