Mary Lou McDonald did not try to leave Dáil before result of confidence motion, party insists

Sinn Féin said it really was a 'bit of a laugh'

Sinn Féin has suggested that because Ms McDonald (pictured) was in the chamber for a “long few hours” that she may not have realised the vote had not been called yet, despite video footage showing her standing close to the Ceann Comhairle Sean Ó Fearghail’s seat by the door.

Sinn Féin has dismissed suggestions Mary Lou McDonald sought to leave the Dáil chamber before her defeat in the confidence motion was confirmed.

The sight of Ms McDonald appearing to want to leave the Dáil before the vote had concluded on her own motion of confidence “is not what it appeared,” the party has insisted.

The party has suggested that because Ms McDonald was in the chamber for a “long few hours” that she may not have realised the vote had not been called yet, despite video footage showing her standing close to the Ceann Comhairle Sean Ó Fearghail’s seat by the door.

The party said it really was a “bit of a laugh”.

Ms McDonald was attacked for appearing to leave her seat and stand by the door of the Dáil chamber even before the Ceann Comhairle had formally announced the comfortable win for the government. The Coalition defeated the Sinn Féin challenge by 85 votes to 66, a margin of 19.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, in the wake of the debate, highlighted the speed of departure by Ms McDonald and other Sinn Féin TDs.

“Motion of confidence passed by 19 votes. Sinn Féin couldn’t wait to get out of Dáil chamber. They claim to offer change, but offer no solutions. Sinn Féin are anti-European, indifferent to investment, and have no plan for our economy or jobs. Seen through by Dáil,” he said on social media.

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Speaking at Leinster House on Wednesday, Sinn Féin’s Public Expenditure spokeswoman Mairead Farrell said more was being made of the incident than what it actually was.

Answering questions from the Irish Examiner, she said: “Sometimes, and I've noticed this from being in the Dáil, that things are made into something that they just aren't.

“We debated the motion, we cast our votes. And, like I just said, I was a few seats away from Mary Lou and I think she was literally just getting up. That was after the votes have been taken.

“Sometimes when you're in the Dáil chamber for a very long time, a few hours, you can't be sure the vote has been announced or not. So I really wouldn't read too much into it,” she insisted.

She concluded:

I can understand why sometimes government TDs or other TDs might want to make something out of it. But I think it was actually just a bit of a laugh then everyone kind of laughed about it more than anything.

Ms Farrell said that her party was “absolutely correct” to move the motion of no confidence in the government after it had lost its technical majority last week.

She said the party had moved it in their private members' time, seeking to reject the charge that the motion delayed the passage of any legislation in the final week of the Dáil term.

Sinn Féin has also played down fresh criticism of its decision not to grant Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan a voting pair even though he was absent due to Covid-19.

Mr Durkan said Sinn Féin have displayed a terrible lack of decency and reached a new low in exploiting his Covid diagnosis for their advantage in the Dáil confidence motion on the Government.