Dáil Sketch/Frank McNally: The nursing home scandal has united the opposition as few issues have done in recent times.
If there is to be a new rainbow coalition, the Opposition has decided that one of the key voting blocks will be grey. For the second Leaders' Questions running, they were unanimous about the issue of the day.
Fine Gael and Labour again sang off the same hymn sheet, and it was the turn of Sinn Féin to provide backing vocals.
Enda Kenny and Pat Rabbitte affected to want to help the Government, offering co- operation if the Bill for a new inspectorate was presented before the summer recess. As the Labour leader implied, the Dáil has already become a law- making A&E department.
"Twice in the past three weeks, he [ Mr Ahern] rushed emergency legislation through this house," he said. But even as Pat and Enda donned their rubber gloves and masks and waited for the draft Bill to arrive on a trolley, they were stood down. The Taoiseach was firm. The Bill would be published in the autumn.
His generosity rebuffed, the Labour leader turned to sarcasm. The Taoiseach's claim that the Health Service Executive had been "duped" by the Leas Cross nursing home did not ring true, Mr Rabbitte said. "The Taoiseach has a bad record on inspections in north Dublin," he added: a reference to Mr Ahern's epic but fruitless search of the Swords rain forest back in 1997.
The Opposition is revelling in the ruling parties' problems with the elderly, and yesterday it had started to sound like greedy offspring eyeing the farm. Jim O'Keeffe put it bluntly.
"It's time to send this Government to a home," he said.
While one Prime Time exposé dominated, another rumbled on during ministerial questions when Labour's Joan Burton challenged Brian Cowen to clarify the "Cinderella rule" under which residency for tax is defined by where someone is at midnight.
The invitation was couched in romantic terms. "Be Prince Charming, just for once," she said, although the Minister may prefer to be Cinderella.
Claiming no knowledge about the individual tax affairs of Ireland's exiles, he said that if Ms Burton had such knowledge, "she's a better woman than I am".
Either way, when the Labour TD noted that the Minister was to be seen "at every race meeting in this country where people who are non-resident for tax purposes are walking around", any romance drained from the exchanges. And when the Greens' Dan Boyle made a mild comment about the circles Fianna Fáil moved in, Cinderella Cowen took umbrage at the slippers he was being fitted with.
"Throwing old jibes" might win Mr Boyle a few votes, he said, "but I advise him to keep using the privilege of the House when he does so, because if he ever does it outside the House, I'll have a chat with him."