There's a real edge to this row over Dáil speaking time which is both palpable, deep-seated and unusual.
The Opposition is united in its fundamental antipathy towards the Coalition plan for changes, and is threatening to stall some of the work of the Oireachtas.
The Coalition is equally trenchant: claiming it won't be brow-beaten or intimidated by the sustained Opposition criticism.
Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy is warning that this six-week row has to be resolved as a priority so that Dáil Éireann can function effectively.
Yet, there is no sign that the bitterness is about to abate.
The level of antagonism became clear in mid-January in the run-up to the Dáil being convened to nominate Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin as Taoiseach.
Opposition whips expressed their clear hostility to a plan being advanced by Independent deputy Michael Lowry on the allocation speaking time.
The Tipperary TD, and three other independent colleagues backing the Coalition, had joined a technical group. This usually allows opposition deputies secure speaking time, including the right to question the Taoiseach and Tánaiste.
Opposition parties were adamant these independent deputies were government TDs, and therefore could only get government speaking time.
Deputy Lowry was equally adamant that the Standing Orders backed his position.
The unresolved row then erupted in the Dáil chamber on 22 January, leading to four adjournments in proceedings, and Micheál Martin's nomination plans being well and truly banjaxed.
The Taoiseach-not-to-be was furious that night, railing against the subversion of the Constitution by opposition parties, while the Tánaiste critiqued what he termed "stunt politics."
But in a harbinger of things to come, the leaders of five opposition parties had earlier strode onto the plinth at Leinster House and declared their vehement opposition would not change.
The following day, a deal of sorts had been hammered out.
The then Government chief whip, Hildegarde Naughton, told the Dáil that there was what she termed "ambiguity" in the Standing Orders and this would be considered by a new Dáil Reform Committee.
No-one had changed their position, but a possible means of hammering out a compromise had been opened-up.
That was enough for normal proceedings to get under way, and Micheál Martin to be nominated as Taoiseach and collect his seal of office from President Michael D Higgins.
The Government subsequently circulated a proposal to the Dáil Reform Committee, which it argued could resolve the crisis.
It asserted this plan took account not just of the issue of Independent TDs backing the Government, but also of its Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael backbenchers who it claimed had been "locked out" of speaking time.
Last night, new Government Chief Whip Mary Butler explained that the Dáil is "an ever-evolving parliament"; its standing orders must therefore be updated; and the mandate of every TD had to be respected.
She contended a "modern parliament" is not necessarily made up of 'government' and 'opposition' members, but also 'others' who can't readily be categorised.
The Chief Whip suggested that the Government's proposal was "not just about a small group of Independents" but all members, including backbenchers.
Opposition parties are absolutely united in their antipathy towards the Government's new plan, and dismiss it as a "grubby" mechanism solely focused on delivering priority speaking rights to Deputy Lowry and his independent colleagues.
In a joint letter to the Ceann Comhairle, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, Labour leader Ivana Bacik, Social Democrats acting leader Cian O'Callaghan, People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett and Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins said: "You cannot be in government and opposition at the same time.
"Government manoeuvres to try and achieve this outcome are farcical, disrupt the proper functioning of the Dáil and undermine the democratic process itself," they added.
Deadlock
Shortly after 4pm this afternoon, the Dáil Reform Committee will gather to discuss what happens next, but neither side looks as if they're going to back down.
Opposition parties are beginning to outline what will happen if the Government decides to guillotine debate and put their plan to a vote - a vote they would win due to the Coalition’s majority.
It's understood measures under consideration include withdrawing cooperation regarding selecting members to sit on committees and who should chair them.
Sinn Féin whip Pádraig Mac Lochlainn declared that nothing can be ruled-out.
"We can't cooperate with the functioning of the Oireachtas with the committees. It can't be business as usual," he said.
Labour TD Duncan Smith warned that if the Government went for what he called "the nuclear option" then his party would not cooperate with any voting arrangements, such as providing "pairs" for ministers who are abroad on Government business.
But the Government is equally vociferous about its position.
The Taoiseach insisted: "We're not going to be railroaded, or brow-beaten or intimidated by the Opposition."
The person with the unenviable job of representing all TDs in a bitterly divided Dáil is Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy.
On the Bank Holiday Monday, at the beginning of this month, she made a decisive intervention when she ruled that Deputy Lowry's original plan - joining a technical group in the Dáil - would not be allowed.
Last night, the leaders of the five opposition parties wrote to her and suggested effectively that she should make a similar ruling on the Government’s proposal.
They noted the Ceann Comhairle has "an important role in upholding the rules of the House so that it functions properly and fairly."
Then the leaders delivered the killer line: "As such we expect you to ensure that Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions remain opportunities explicitly and solely for Opposition TDs."
Only that afternoon, the Ceann Comhairle had sent her own letter to party leaders, which effectively pushed the responsibility to find a solution back on them.
She wrote: "As parliamentarians, we have a shared responsibility to ensure the effective functioning of the Dáil and, as chair of the committee, I am urging each member to keep this to the fore of their considerations in advance of tomorrow's meeting".
Six weeks on, there's no solution in sight.
Instead, acrimony prevails.
Worse still, there’s a distinct possibility that fraught relationships could deteriorate even further.
It's unclear how both sides can begin to find a solution.
As it stands, they can't agree on what the problem actually is.
