\u201cWe never thought we\u2019d miss you so much.\u201d <\/p>\n
Aah, but they did. <\/p>\n
Someone had to say something to staunch the soppiness. <\/p>\n
Let\u2019s face it, it wouldn\u2019t have been a good look to mark Richard Boyd<\/a> Barrett<\/a>\u2019s return to the D\u00e1il after getting the all-clear from cancer<\/a> by having him die of embarrassment on his first day back in the chamber. <\/p>\n After all the warm applause and with deputies still smiling over this happy outcome, Michael Healy-Rae<\/a> interjected with a little tongue-in-cheek levity, allowing the Ceann Comhairle to gently steer business back to the normal hostilities. <\/p>\n Everyone was delighted see RBB back in his usual place among his socialist comrades, eight months after taking leave to have treatment for throat cancer.<\/p>\n The People Before Profit TD for D\u00fan Laoghaire is returning on a phased basis and, by the sounds of it, so is his famous foghorn delivery. <\/p>\n Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy<\/a> was delighted to welcome him back, even if he can be one of her more difficult charges. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd to be fair, deputy, everybody is absolutely thrilled to hear that your treatment went well. And you\u2019re looking so well.\u201d <\/p>\n Not strictly accurate. <\/p>\n Richard was looking morto.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe you\u2019re somewhat quieter. We\u2019ll have to judge that as we go,\u201d laughed Verona, with the look of a woman who is not expecting a particularly long honeymoon period in this respect. <\/p>\n With the Taoiseach away, Sinn Fein\u2019s Mary Lou McDonald<\/a> sent in one of her boys to deal with whoever was standing in for him. The leader of the main opposition party wasn\u2019t going to give Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a>\u2019s second-in-command her precious time for two days in a row. <\/p>\n David Cullinane deputised for her on Wednesday. And like every other person who spoke during Leaders\u2019 Questions, the first thing he did was welcome RBB.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great news.\u201d <\/p>\n Miche\u00e1l\u2019s super-sub, Jack Chambers<\/a>, joined the congeniality chorus. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see you back, healthy and well,\u201d said the Minister for Public Expenditure, highlighting Richard\u2019s \u201cenormous candour and bravery\u201d in speaking publicly about his illness, something which will have helped a lot of people who are experiencing cancer in their own lives or that of a loved one.<\/p>\n RBB nodded modestly.<\/p>\n Labour leader Ivana Bacik has suffered more than most from Boyd Barrett\u2019s booming contributions. <\/p>\n \u201cI never thought I\u2019d say this,\u201d she began, turning to face the veteran ear-basher, \u201cbut I\u2019ve missed your voice in my left ear across the aisle.\u201d <\/p>\n He gave a bashful smile.<\/p>\n Could things get any better? <\/p>\n They certainly could for those in the House of a leftist persuasion. <\/p>\n Ivana was keen \u201cto acknowledge the wonderful election victories in the US overnight\u201d and, in particular, Zohran Mamdani\u2019s win in New York \u201cproving that voters want a message of hope\u201d. <\/p>\n Despite the genuinely happy vibes for RBB, the session served up the standard dispiriting back and forth over the cost-of-living crisis (Cullinane) and the housing crisis (Bacik).<\/p>\n If groundhogs had Groundhog Days, they would exist perpetually in the hamster wheel of Leaders\u2019 Questions.<\/p>\n TD Richard Boyd-Barrett, speaking in the D\u00e1il for the first time since his own cancer treatment, has called for investment in linear accelerators. <\/p>\n