Government defeats no-confidence motion by 86 votes to 67

READ MORE Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl said the debate had been “a disgrace” with constant heckling and interruptions between Government and Opposition benches. Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen has faced criticism for his remarks during the debate where he said extending the eviction ban would be like “making sweets free for children”. “It’s fine for a little while but ultimately detrimental to the greater need,” he said. Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said his remark was “disgraceful”, while Sinn Fein TD Réada Cronin said the comment illustrated the “paternalistic arrogance” of the Government. They reflect the thinking of a government which considers secure housing as a treat as opposed to a basic human right.” Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan said the remarks showed “a despicable lack of compassion” and called for Mr Cowen to apologise. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Labour Party’s motion was “political theatre, performative anger and performance art”. Mr Varadkar said if the Opposition was successful in winning the vote, the Dáil would have been dissolved this afternoon, with an election in April and could be “well into the summer” before there would be an elected Government. The Fine Gael leader said Labour’s motion was about “competition for attention” on the Opposition benches. Mr Varadkar also said Labour leader Ivana Bacik’s solution of one million homes in 10 years was “a nice promise”. “When asked how that number was arrived at or how it was realised, the leader of the Labour Party had no answers,” he said. We all know where the figure of one million promised new homes came from, it’s a round number, that’s all and there is a conference speech to be made – Tesco ad 2.0.” Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the debate had shown that the Opposition had “abandoned any effort to offer a comprehensive alternative” and instead offered “empty soundbites”. “Just like other left parties, it [Labour] remains so terrified of Sinn Féin’s troll army that it is increasingly incapable of presenting a distinct position from that party on any matter,” he said. [ As it happened: Liveblog on Labour’s no-confidence motion in the DáilOpens in new window ] Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said during Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s time in Government, “we have gone from housing crisis to housing emergency to housing disaster”. Ms McDonald said the “housing crisis didn’t fall from the sky” and the Government had followed an agenda that “explicitly transferred” their responsibility to deliver housing to the private market. Ms McDonald said Irish people deserved better than the “stranglehold of this perpetual housing crisis” and “better than Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael”. “You have had your chance and you have failed – you’re out of ideas, you’re out of touch, you’re out of time and now is the time for others to be given the chance to show what we can do,” she said. “It’s time for change, the longer that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael remain in Government, the more damage they will do. We need a general election, and the sooner the better.” Ms Bacik said that the Taoiseach had engaged in “some political theatrics” himself in spending more time attacking Labour than in setting out solutions. Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said there would be more votes of no confidence in the Government as “time is running out for this Government”. “The people it [the Government] has failed on housing have had enough, they lost confidence a long time ago and it isn’t coming back,” she said. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/oireachtas/2023/03/29/government-defeats-no-confidence-motion-by-86-votes-to-67/