Independents and small parties expected to abstain in taoiseach vote
Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Fianna Fáil’s Micheál Martin have failed over the past week to lure support from the majority of Independents and others.
It is expected the Independent Alliance, the Green Party, the Social Democrats, and the majority of Independent TDs will abstain from voting to elect a taoiseach this morning, with many stating the lack of movement on Dáil reform as their main reason for not voting.
The lack of support will put more pressure on the two main parties to enter their own agreement to avoid a second election.
However, there is more appetite to take part in the secret ballot to elect a ceann comhairle, with Independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan the preferred candidate.
The Independent Alliance is expected to abstain from voting for a taoiseach and members will be given a free vote on the ceann comhairle nomination.
There was “little movement” when the group met with Fine Gael earlier this week. John Halligan of the Independent Alliance said: “I will be abstaining and I believe the other members of the alliance will all be abstaining”.
“We are now being asked to vote for a taoiseach but we have been given no economic plan, no five-year plan is being put forward by any of the parties.”
The Social Democrats met yesterday to discuss Oireachtas reform and said they would be meeting again this morning to finalise a stance on today’s votes.
“We don’t have a decision on the vote for the taoiseach or the ceann comhairle,” said joint-leader Catherine Murphy.
“We get the sense that there is a general commitment to do something within the next few weeks and it’s trying to find the common ground on that,” she said on reforming the Dáil.
The Greens have said they would back Ms O’Sullivan’s bid to become the first female ceann comhairle in the history of the State.
But party leader Eamon Ryan said: “ I don’t think there is a credible government being presented by any of the parties so I think in those circumstances we won’t be voting for a taoiseach.”
Also, the Anti-Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit indicated they will nominate Richard Boyd Barrett as their candidate for taoiseach ahead of today’s vote.
While Michael Healy-Rae said he and his brother Danny have “a definite way that we will be voting, but we are not going to comment on that until after the vote”.
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Tipperary’s Mattie McGrath will be abstaining from the vote for a taoiseach but said he would be supporting Ms O’Sullivan for the chair position.
Although Mr Martin had spoken to him and he had been in contact with Mr Kenny via text message, he said he would not be voting as “they have not offered us any reform”.
The subject of reform was also brought up by Independent Denis Naughten who met with both Mr Kenny and Mr Martin yesterday.
Among the 10 reforms the Roscommon-Galway TD wants implemented is to reduce threshold for formation of a group from seven to five and to abolish the Economic Management Council which he dubbed the “gang of four” who “make the decisions for all the citizens of this country, which are then rubber-stamped by the Cabinet and rammed through a Dáil that spends much of its time bickering”.
