Government expected to survive vote on Sinn Féin motion of no confidence

The Government should survive Tuesday’s vote on a Sinn Féin motion of no confidence in the Dáil amid an expectation that despite the loss of its majority, the votes will be there to keep the Coalition in power.

One former Government TD, Marc MacSharry, has publicly confirmed he will oppose the motion.

Joe McHugh – whose resignation of the Fine Gael whip led to the loss of the Coalition majority – told RTÉ on Sunday night he will also back the Government.

There has also been engagement with Independent TDs over the weekend and it is expected that some will support the Government.

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While the Sinn Féin move exposes the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Green Party coalition’s increasingly shaky Dáil numbers, senior Government sources belief the result of the vote will be “comfortable enough”.

The Government is planning to table its own confidence motion to supersede Sinn Féin’s no-confidence one.

Mica fallout

The Coalition lost its Dáil majority last week when Mr McHugh voted against legislation to bring in a grant scheme to help householders whose homes were damaged by Mica due to concerns he had about the plans.

This cut the Coalition’s numbers to 79, one short of a majority.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said on Sunday that the Government’s survival should not be taken for granted and rebel Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan has said she has still not decided if she will back it in the vote.

However, Sligo-Leitrim TD Mr MacSharry, formerly of Fianna Fáil, has confirmed he will vote against the Sinn Féin motion.

The Government may also be able to rely on support of former Green Party TDs Ms Hourigan and Patrick Costello as well as Independent TDs who regularly back it in Dáil votes.

Mr MacSharry quit the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party last September after criticising how it was being run ahead of a Sinn Féin confidence motion against Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney.

‘Civil servant-led administration’

Mr MacSharry said he had “many issues” with what he argued was the “the autopilot, civil servant-led administration” he blamed on Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

But he also said: “The country will not benefit from a general election at this time.”

Speaking to RTÉ Radio, Ms Hourigan said she was “as yet undecided” on how she would vote.

In May, she and Mr Costello were suspended from their party whip for six months after they voted in favour of a Sinn Féin motion on the new National Maternity Hospital.

A Green Party spokeswoman told The Irish Times: “The Green Party expect and hope that both Deputies Hourigan and Costello will vote with government on this and all other matters.”

On whether the way they vote on Tuesday would impact on their ability to return to the party fold later this year, the spokeswoman said: “We will not be speculating on any other outcomes.”

Meanwhile, Ms McDonald told Newstalk Radio’s On the Record show that the Government’s handling of the mica issue demonstrated why “it is now time to call time on them and for them to go”.

She said there had been “failures” in housing and health but the response to mica “crystallised certainly just how bad things have got”.

Ms McDonald said that she didn’t accept that it was inevitable that the motion of no confidence in Government wasn’t going to pass.