Dáil Sketch:The late Charles Haughey, sitting on the taoiseach's seat, once told the then young PD deputy, Michael McDowell, that he was as nasty a piece of goods as he had seen in the Dáil.
Yesterday Tánaiste Michael McDowell, sitting on the Taoiseach's seat for the Order of Business, could not say if there will be a question-and-answer session when the House later this month debates the Moriarty tribunal report, which has Charles Haughey as its central character.
The Opposition scented blood.
"Will the Tánaiste stand over a situation where work, over almost 10 years, will not be permitted to be subject to a question-and-answer session in the House, given his record on this side of the House when the subject matter of this report was sitting where he is now?" asked Pat Rabbitte.
Oozing ministerial gravitas, Mr McDowell replied: "The deputy seems to imply he cannot put down questions other than during the debate.
"Of course, he is mistaken. The House provides that the deputy can put down questions at any point."
Labour's Brendan Howlin shook his head, more in sorrow than in anger. "How they have changed," he declared, with the PDs in mind.
Mr McDowell's fellow Dublin South East TD, Labour's Ruairí Quinn, remarked: "Single party government, no thanks! Jesus Christ!' Mr McDowell was also pursued about the ethics legislation drafted in response to the Bertie Ahern payments controversy of last October.
Mr Rabbitte remarked that he could not remember the name of the Bill, but it had been the subject of a famous press conference on the steps of Government Buildings when, he said, Mr McDowell whispered to the Taoiseach: "I think we got away with it." Mr McDowell accused Mr Rabbitte of having a capacity to misquote people.
"The phrase the media picked up was, 'we survived that'. That was what was said," the Tánaiste said. The Bill will be published during this Dáil session, he added.
Fine Gael's Jim O'Keeffe remarked on "the one who got away", while Independent Finian McGrath retorted: "The Tánaiste is still getting away with it."
Dismissing the Opposition attempts at point-scoring, Mr McDowell remarked: "Eat your heart out."
Meanwhile, with the election campaign stepping up, it is clear that, ultimately, all politics is local.
Using standard Dáil rhetoric, Kerry South Independent TD Jackie Healy-Rae sought an emergency debate on "a matter of national importance", namely the closure of the post office in Park Road, Killarney, because of a lack of Government funding. He urged Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, "a local man", to wake up to the situation.
"There will be nobody welcoming him to the Park Road in Killarney this morning," said Mr Healy-Rae.
No doubt, with an eye to voters, Mr O'Donoghue will reply in kind, probably back home in his native Kerry South.
There will be much more of all that between now and the May election.