Two north west Independent TDs are among a group that has now secured speaking rights in the Dail.
Sligo/Leitrim TD Marian Harkin and Donegal TD Thomas Pringle are members of the group, as well as Roscommon/Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice, Catherine Connolly from Galway West, Michael McNamara from Clare and Joan Collins, Dublin South Central.
Speaking rights allows the group to table motions, ask questions and make statements in the Dail.
Deputy Fitzmaurice says it’s a system that worked well in the last Dail.