Nature restoration was the topic under discussion, but the restoration of Independent candidate Peter Casey suddenly became urgent too.
Katie Hannon informed viewers that he had departed the Upfront debate and expressed hope that he would return.
There was some explanation that his leaving the field of play was linked to a microphone problem that needed remedying.
For more than five minutes his spot (a much-coveted space it was too) was vacant.
Then his return was announced. Drama over.
Indeed, such was Peter Casey's nonchalance on his comeback that he calmly slotted into an agriculture debate.
In fact, he would reveal that he had previously owned two farms and knew how difficult it was for farmers to make money.
But it was money for farmers that actually partially cured Luke Ming Flanagan of his EU scepticism.
Changes he secured in the European Parliament to increase the payments to the lowest income farmers convinced him that sometimes the EU can do good things.
But the Migration Pact was not one of them according to Aontú Leader Peadar Toibín who believes it will impinge on the Government’s ability to make decisions on migration and erode national sovereignty.
That issue of migration has become the one more and more people are talking about during the campaign, Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen said.
It has risen from being a discussion point for one in every eight voters to one in every two, he has found.
And he believes that there should be a clamp down on illegal immigration, but he was not willing to be prescriptive about where exactly, suggesting anywhere from the Laois-Offaly border to the Cavan-Fermanagh border.
Somewhere around those borders there is certain to be a dairy farm that expanded back when the Fine Gael-led government of a decade ago championed the pursuit of "liquid gold."
Was such enthusiasm a mistake in hindsight, given the climate crisis, Katie Hannon asked the party’s Maria Walsh?
Not so, the sitting MEPs confidently replied, saying proudly that Fine Gael listens to farmers.
However, Green candidate and current Senator Pauline O’Reilly recalled an answer former Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness had given her on this very subject.
In the quiet confines of the Seanad, Mairead McGuinness had apparently conceded that policy was a mistake, to which Maria Walsh replied: "Different MEPs."
Among which group of MEPs would Sinn Féin sit if its representatives are returned to Brussels?
Chris MacManus was not certain about that one, saying an assessment of the options would be made after the election.
Saoirse McHugh’s damning assessment of electoral politics and its limitations when she departed the political scene a few years ago was recalled too.
This time around she still appeared to harbour some doubts but believes that she can ultimately make a valuable contribution.
A view no doubt shared by all eight candidates who participated in this sometimes-unruly debate.
