The crowd was dispersing fast. Among the spectators, ushers, and Yes men, a band of Government privateersmen scurried away from a packed room, self-satisfied with the sound of their own voices while denying the media their right to free questioning. It’s easy to preach to the converted.
But we were there, The Liberal team, doing what we do best. We were ready and willing to fire our first salvo onto the Government’s broadside.
As their ranks thinned, we got hold of Fine Gael TD Simon Coveney. Separated from the pack, he was vulnerable. So we took our chances and fired off a few tough questions.
The Liberal team questioned Mr. Coveney about the impact that the upcoming referendum may have in a subsequent surrogacy bill, because such bill may give same sex couples who are married the same rights as heterosexual couples. He obstinately refused to be dragged onto the discussion, simply reiterating that the referendum is about equality and protecting children.
We pushed for an answer on the issue, because he kept skirting around it, and he became visibly uncomfortable with our line of questioning.
Eventually, a Fine Gael press advisor spotted Minister Coveney in trouble, and burst in to his rescue. Mr. Coveney eagerly took the chance and escaped.
The Liberal team circled around for another salvo and managed to briefly hit the Taoiseach, who was hurriedly ushered away by his handlers as the buzzword “equality” trailed off from his mouth.
A video accompanying this article will be published in due course.