Seanad calls halt on mobile phones

It was nearly getting too much for Seanad Chairman Pat Moylan on Tuesday.

And the cause of his grief - that niggling, annoying interference that mobile phones generate when they are placed too close to a microphone.

It got so bad at one stage, that Senator Moylan threatened to adjourn the Seanad.

“I have asked members to leave their mobile phones outside the Chamber or turn them off,” he said, exasperated.

“It is not fair on the persons trying to record the proceedings of the House if a member comes in with a mobile phone turned on. It must stop. If it continues, I will simply adjourn until the members concerned remove their mobile phones from the Chamber,” he said.

His warning put a halt to Senator Jerry Buttimer’s trot for certain.

Jerry (pictued) is almost by-passing Green’s Dan Boyle as King of the Tweets in Leinster House.

Followers of Jerry’s get a day in the life of the proud Cork Senator almost every day.

Following the Chairman’s warning on Tuesday, Buttimer was quick to tweet ‘better stop tweeting after chair warning re phones’.

Such a pity, as Jerry’s views on life and politics has become highly entertaining reading on a daily basis.

“Bertie has found the Seand,” he claimed this week following a rare signing of The Bert close to the Upper House.

“Op transformation success continues, just bought 32w jeans in Kildare outlets,” he tweeted at the weekend.

Commenting on SIPTU’s Jack O’Connor’s on-screen spat with TV3’s Vincent Browne - “Jack O’Connor is like a tight corner back, hurling with gusto. Playing a blinder on VB TV3.”

And even last weekend’s Eurovision didn’t escape a regular commentary
from the Senator.

Jerry was not happy that Germany walked away with the title.

“If that is the best song, time to leave the Eurovision. That was puke in my opinion. Niamh was so so better.”

Also tweeting on the Eurovision was Labour’s Liz McManus.

“Not since Labour was in Government has Ireland triumphed at Eurovision. No wins since 1997. No surprise. Fianna Fail hit bum notes so often. What’s another year?”