The Dáil has tonight voted that it has confidence in the Government.
The handling of last week’s fuel protests triggered a Sinn Fein motion of no confidence, following blockades at fuel depots and motorways nationwide.
The government subsequently tabled a motion of confidence in itself, which has the power to override a motion from the opposition.
The Government won its confidence motion by 92 votes to 78.
Just two government-supporting TDs voted against the government, Minister Michael Healy-Rae and his brother, Danny Healy-Rae.
Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit Solidarity, Independent Ireland, the Greens, 100 per cent Redress and several Independents all voted no confidence in the Coalition.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin was criticised for refusing to recall the Dáil as protests broke out over the Easter break, “leaving people with no option but to take to the streets.”
During Tuesday’s debate, Mr Martin hit back at claims from numerous TDs that the Government had “sneered” at protestors and had long failed to tackle the rising cost of living and housing.
He claimed that: “This is a country which ranks in the top ten in the world for freedom of speech, the right to protest, and the right of democratic participation. Every week, the streets outside of Leinster House are filled with groups, passionately advocating for their cause.
“People speak up looking for funding for local services, for special education supports for child care, for disability services, for pensions, and also for many other political, environmental, and social issues. These demonstrations often involve closing roads and coordination within Goddess economy.
“ The general public and businesses accept the inconvenience as part of what comes with living in an active democracy,” added the Taoiseach, claiming: “The blockade of critical infrastructure of last week went far beyond this. It was a destructive blockade, which threatened to cause much deeper damage.
“Everybody has a right to protest, but nobody has a right to appoint themselves as the voice of the people. and to threaten the jobs and livelihoods of many thousands of families.
“Nobody has the right to prevent people from getting to cancer treatments, to be visited by their carer, to distribute vital supplies.
“The house needs to face up to the fact that these actions were very directly threatening the basic fuel supplies of the country. This went far beyond the drying up of fuel pumps, which people saw throughout the country,” said Mr Martin.
“I absolutely understand the pressures people feel, and the need for measures to reduce the impact of rising oil prices.
“That said, no group has the right to say to the rest of the country that it will decide who gets fuel, to go to work; that it decides who gets fuel in general, or it decides who will block that it decides, so it will block Irish firms from exporting the goods, which pay workers’ wages. No action by government was taken in haste.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLWQrdtjhZY
MARTIN: WE WILL FIND AND PROSECUTE SOME ELEMENTS
During his speech, Mr Martin said that he would support efforts to “find and prosecute” some protestors.
“ There are many extreme groups which came to speak on behalf of the people without ever securing the support of the people. It is standard practice for people to shout in the streets, and online, that they are the real people of Ireland, and that the Dail and the government are a non representative elite, who know nothing, and care less about this country,” he said.
Mr Martin said that parliamentary democracy was something that should be affirmed and defended. He claimed that while “the great majority of people” who protested did so “reasonably and democratically,” this was not the case for some other elements.
“I condemn utterly the sinister targeting of Gardai, or oil lorry drivers – and I’ve told the (Garda) Commissioner that we will fully support his efforts to find and prosecute those involved. I also condemn the direct and indirect threats to Deputies and to Ministers. The online threats against homes and offices should be condemned by everyone here.”
He also said: “We should all be concerned with the attempts to import extreme ideologies here – something we saw with the number of online social media accounts originating from America and Britain and elsewhere which were spreading inflammatory comments about the blockade.”
HEALY-RAE RESIGNATION
During his speech in which he announced his resignation as a Government Minister, Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said: “I’ve always looked at myself as a gauge of the people of rural Ireland, and I really believe that I am.
“When I see people on the side of the road, when I’ve seen grown men crying… when I met tractor men, lorry men, farmers and when they were telling me how unhappy they were, the leader of the country should have listened.
“Because of the fact that I believe this Government have let the people of Ireland down, I will be voting no confidence in the leader of the country, and I will be tendering my resignation as a minister of state from now.
“I would ask that future governments and this Government that they would listen, that they would be kind, that they would be understanding.”
It has been reported that Healy-Rae had not forewarned the Government that he would be resigning and voting against them today.