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Quiz

Quiz: How many of these Dáil rules do you know?

Could you make it as a TD?
10.01pm, 30 Mar 2025
27.2k

BETWEEN VARIOUS EVENTS in the Dáil as of late, we’ve all become a lot more familiar with the rules of the chamber than we might ever have expected.

Dáil rules covering everything from how a debate is run to the conduct of TDs are laid out in two documents called the Standing Orders Relative to Public Business and Salient Rulings of the Chair.

Could you make it through a day as a TD without unwittingly breaking a rule? It’s time to find out. 

Which side of the Ceann Comhairle do Government members typically sit on in the chamber? (From the Ceann Comhairle's perspective)
Oireachtas Flickr
Left
Right
How long are members directed to remain standing for silent reflection after the Dáil prayer is read?
15 seconds
30 seconds
45 seconds
60 seconds
True or false - the Salient Rulings of the Chair states that “it is inappropriate to bring a mobile phone into the Chamber, let alone use it”.
Alamy
True
False
Where can a book or newspaper be read?
On the benches
In the gallery
In the lobby
None of the above
Members shouldn’t accuse another member in the Dáil of “being deceitful” or “dishonest”. Which of these are members also explicitly not allowed to accuse one another of being?
Alamy
A “pirate”
A “rogue”
A “rapscallion”
A “ne’er-do-well’
Are members forbidden from saying another member is “acting the brat”?
Yes
No
The order in which oral questions are asked to Government members is decided through a lottery. How many days before a sitting is that lottery held (not including weekends)?
Rollingnews.ie
One
Two
Three
Four
During leaders' questions, under the rules applied for the 33rd Dáil (i.e. the previous government), how many opposition parties or groups were able to ask a question per sitting?
Three
Four
Five
Six
During 100-minute debates in the 33rd Dáil, how many minutes were allocated for Government TDs to speak?
Oireachtas Flickr
12
24
36
48
What happens if both the Ceann Comhairle and Leas-Cheann Comhairle are absent?
The Dáil is suspended until such time as either the Ceann Comhairle or Leas-Cheann Comhairle are present
The Dáil is suspended and a meeting of the business committee is convened to determine whether it is appropriate to continue in their absence
The Dáil elects an acting Ceann Comhairle on the spot
The Dáil continues about its business with a “nuair a bhíonn an cat amuigh, bíonn an luch ag rince” philosophy
How many members of the Dáil must be present for it to have a quorum (i.e. the minimum number of members needed for proceedings to go ahead as normal)?
Alamy
One-fifth of the total number of members, or 30, whichever is the lesser number
One-quarter of the total number of members, or 40, whichever is the lesser number
27 (the number of TDs who attended the first-ever Dáil sitting)
Ten members if the sitting starts before noon or 20 members if it starts after noon
Answer all the questions to see your result!
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