A Sinn F茅in TD has denied taking a 鈥渢actical wee鈥 in order to miss his opportunity to call a D谩il vote on the Special Criminal Courts.
Matt Carthy was absent from the D谩il chamber on Wednesday afternoon when a debate on the Special Criminal Court was passed without a vote.
Sinn F茅in traditionally voted against the non-jury court when the legislation came up for renewal every year.
However, for the last number of years, it has abstained from the vote as new reforms were under consideration.
On Wednesday, the debate ended more an hour earlier than expected as there were no more speakers in the D谩il chamber.
Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy stated that she had to call a vote on Sinn F茅in鈥檚 amendment but there was a 鈥渄ifficulty in that Deputy Carthy has stepped out鈥.
Junior Minister at the Department of Justice Niall Collins, who had declined an opportunity to speak and conclude the debate, stated that 鈥渢hat is the way it goes鈥.
A vote on the amendment was not called and those present in the D谩il Chamber then agreed to pass the legislation underpinning the Special Criminal Court without a vote.
Mr Carthy returned and asked if he could move his amendment and that he was absent as he 鈥渉ad to take a call鈥.
However, the Ceann Comhairle told him that she 鈥渄id not know if you were coming back鈥 and that it was too late.
Speaking on the Leinster House plinth on Thursday, Mr Carthy admitted that he had actually gone to the toilet and missed the end of the debate.
However, he denied that it was a 鈥渢actical wee鈥, a reference to the Australian children鈥檚 TV show Bluey.
He said: 鈥淚t was just one of those occasions. There was a very long debate. I was there for the vast majority of it.
鈥淭here was a number of groups left to speak, including several independent TDs, a number of government speakers, and the Minister of State, Niall Collins, was to give a closing address.
鈥淚 stepped out to answer nature’s call, to be quite frank about it. While I wasn鈥檛 there, the minister saw an opportunity and didn鈥檛 take his opportunity to give a closing address.
鈥淭he independents who were due to speak weren’t present, and therefore he was able to ensure the passage of the legislation without any vote.
鈥淚 thought it was petty to be honest, but that is politics.鈥
He added: 鈥淣o, [it wasn鈥檛 a tactical wee]. It was a tactical position on the part of the Minister of State. It was what we call an old fashioned political stroke.鈥
Government sources, however, denied that there was any 鈥渟troke鈥, arguing that there was also a Sinn F茅in speaking slot that Mr Carthy and other TDs were not present for.
They also suggested that he 鈥渆ffectively got rid of opposition speaking time鈥 as the Sinn F茅in slot was skipped and independent TDs missed their slots that were pushed forward as a result.
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