Your Vote, Mr. Ryan? Mr. Ryan? Zzzzzzz

Irish lawmaker has to be woken up in parliament
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 17, 2020 8:27 AM CDT

An Irish lawmaker's vote in parliament is getting lots of attention, for all the wrong reasons. Eamon Ryan, leader of Ireland's Green Party, was caught snoozing when his turn came to vote, reports Irish Central. (See the video.) The clerk of the Dáil called Ryan's name twice, only to be met with silence, until another lawmaker appeared to turn around and wake him up. A member of the rival Social Democrats later delivered a subtle burn: “There is a manner in which we carry ourselves in the Dáil chamber and there is an expectation that at the very minimum, you should be awake," Gary Gannon tells the Independent.

Gannon has reason to be annoyed: It was his motion being voted upon, one that would have provided greater protections to workers during the pandemic. Ryan, once awake, voted against it, as did most other lawmakers, and it failed. The Dáil has been meeting in the Dublin Convention Centre during the pandemic, and another lawmaker thinks that played a role in Ryan's ill-timed nap. “It’s like being in the cinema and it’s not too hard to fall asleep in the cinema," says Independent Michael Fitzmaurice. "The sooner we get back to the Dáil, the better, because it’s the most unsuitable place ever we were." Ryan himself has not commented on the incident. (More Ireland stories.)

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