Government survives Dáil confidence motion

The Government has survived a confidence motion tabled in response to its handling of the fuel crisis on Tuesday.

It replaced a no confidence motion tabled by Sinn Féin and won by 92 to 78 in favour.

All opposition parties voted against the Government, as well as a number of independents.

The shock of the vote was the resignation of Junior Minister in the Department of Agriculture Michael Healy Rae, who voted against the government. In a statement on Facebook, he said that he felt “sorry for the workers who went protesting over the last couple of weeks”.

“They’re the people that I adore. They’re tractor drivers, they’re digger drivers, they’re the people I’ve worked with over the years.

“I feel I’ve not choice but to vote no confidence in the Government, and its leader, because of the fact that he didn’t listen on time.

“My loyalty is to the people of Kerry,” he said.

A day previously, Healy-Rae had reiterated his support for the Government.

Opposition members accused the Government of disrespecting protestors in the debate over the confidence motion.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that the Government had “demeaned peaceful protestors”.

“It insulted them, and it insults them here again today. It refused to meet them because it decided that doing so was beneath it,” she said.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin defended the Government’s response. He said that the package put together by the Government amounted to “proportionately the largest assistance package of any European country”.

“The basic core claim that we are doing nothing and are falling behind other countries is simply untrue,” he said.

“Our action and our engagement on fuel prices was ongoing before the blockade and it will continue well after the blockade,” he said.

He said that the blockades of motorways and oil terminals was “destructive”, and that it threatened to cause much deeper damage.