Simon Harris and Mary Lou McDonald trade social media videos in row over his Dáil no-show

The absence of the Taoiseach from a slot usually reserved for Leaders' Questions firstly led to a row in the Chamber.

But Ms McDonald then recorded a video outside Leinster House in which she questioned why he hadn’t shown up.

Less than an hour later, Mr Harris posted his own video on X and TikTok in which he is sitting at his desk in Government Buildings. He outlines what he has been doing during his first 24 hours in the job.

It has emerged that among his reasons for not taking the usual slot for Leaders’ Questions was a need to take phonecalls with world leaders, including the First Minister of Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill.

After 1pm Mr Harris posed with his junior ministers on the steps of Government Buildings. The Opposition expected him to be in the chamber for 2pm.

"We are here today. We've shown up to do our job. We are here – where is the Taoiseach. He ought to be here," Ms McDonald told TDs.

"He ought to be here taking questions and dealing with the issues that matter to the people."

Instead TDs were faced with ordering House business – with Mattie McGrath, leader of the Rural Independents commenting: "I think we should go to the wax museum and put a dummy in here [for the Taoiseach].”

Government chief whip Hildegarde Naughton explained that the Taoiseach was busy.

She said he was holding phone calls with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland, and with Volodomyr Zelenskiyy, President of Ukraine.

He would be taking his first Leaders' Questions "next week," she said, to Opposition uproar. Tánaiste Micheál Martin typically takes the slot on a Thursday.

But Ms McDonald said the Taoiseach had been telling everyone that he was up for every challenge and that "he was going to move mountains".

Now he couldn't come into the Dáil because of three or four phone calls, she said. "That's not acceptable."

Ms McDonald said the business of the House was "not top of the list". Housing, the hospital crisis, and the cost of living were.

"We have a right to expect that the Taoiseach be here. He's now in the post after two weeks of recess. He's had plenty of time to prepare himself and he isn't here," she said.

"To me as an elected member of this House that is entirely unacceptable," she said. "And I think it shows again the utter contempt of this Government for us and indeed for the people that we represent."

In his video, Mr Harris outlines how he chaired two Cabinet meetings in 12 hours, appointed ministers of State and approved a number Cabinet committees including one to look at improving services for people with disabilities.

He also promised to give another update on his work “later in the day”.

Meanwhile, a second row broke out in the Dáil this afternoon over the cost of fuel resulting in the Dáil being suspended.

It came after the Government partially restored excise to petrol and diesel on April 1, with the last remaining excise restoration due in October.

The Coalition had previously provided temporary excise relief in response to high inflation and galloping retail fuel costs resulting from the war in Ukraine.

Sinn Féin spokesman on Finance Pearse Doherty said the net effect would be that motor fuel would be higher than ever, especially in relation to Northern Ireland.

He said there are 390 fuel outlets in the counties of the Republic that ring Northern Ireland, and motorists would now cross the border to avail of fuel that would be 20 cent cheaper per gallon in the North.

He said such garages and forecourts provided major employment in places like Ballybofey, Cavan and Dundalk, where jobs could be affected.

The UK Government was continuing its excise rebate on fuel, he said, but the Government here was re-imposing extra charges despite the cost of living crisis.

The suspension came at 4pm, after Finance Minister Michael McGrath complained that he was being provoked by interruptions from Mr Doherty but most notably from Kerry Independent TD Danny Healy Rae.

Mr Healy Rae became angered after Mr McGrath told him he was speaking from the "luxury" of Opposition, whereas Mr Healy Rae said he enjoyed no luxury and had to pay high fuel charges like everyone else.