Government to survive motion of no confidence as security stepped up at Leinster House
Gardaí on Kildare St in Dublin ahead of last Friday's fuel cost protests. Barriers will be erected around Leinster House on Tuesday in anticipation of further protests as the Dáíl considers a motion of no confidence in the Government. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins
The Government is set to defeat a no-confidence motion over its handling of the fuel crisis today, and will immediately look to pass its €505m support package in a bid to quell public anger over spiralling costs.
Barriers will be erected outside Leinster House in anticipation of further protests as TDs return to the Dáil after an Easter break dominated by blockades and fuel shortages.
While the Government is expected to win the no-confidence motion, some Independent TDs have declined to say how they will vote.
Independent TD Barry Heneghan told the he is “carefully considering” his position, while Gillian Toole and Danny Healy-Rae have not said if they will back the Government.
Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae, whose brother Michael is a junior minister, has repeatedly criticised Taoiseach Micheál Martin, calling him “arrogant”, and called for a change of leadership at the top of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
Asked if he would back the Government, Mr Healy-Rae said he would first engage with his supporters before coming to a decision.
Read More
A tumultuous week of protests and blockades was met with a Government announcement of a further €505m of supports, on top of the €250m in excise cuts announced last month.
If voted through, the package will see a planned rise in carbon tax deferred to October and extension of the excise duty cut to June, a further 10c reduction on petrol and diesel, and 2.4c on green diesel from midnight, along with a fuel subsidy for farming and fisheries.
The opposition has criticised the package as not going far enough to alleviate the fuel price spikes caused by the US-Israel war with Iran.
The vote comes amid growing tensions in Government amid suggestions that Fine Gael — and defence minister Helen McEntee in particular — are trying to throw justice minister Jim O’Callaghan “under the bus”.
Some in Fianna Fáil believe Fine Gael is trying to blame Mr O’Callaghan for stoking public anger by involving the Defence Forces following reports Ms McEntee was unhappy she was not consulted beforehand.
Earlier, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly thanked gardaí for their actions during the protests and criticised the online abuse faced by some gardaí.
Mr Kelly said he was “absolutely appalled” by the attempts to identify and abuse individual gardaí amid policing operations carried out to maintain public order during the fuel protests. He said:
Fuels For Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said that fuel truck drivers have also been targeted with similar abuse.
The Dáil vote comes as the US confirmed a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz had begun while talks with Iran stalled. Blocking the strait will further disrupt the flow of oil into the international market.
US president Donald Trump said talks with Iran had hit a roadblock related to nuclear issues and confirmed the “blockade” of ships was under way.
He said that Iran had “called this morning” and that “they’d like to work a deal” but he added: “We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world.”
Although oil prices lingered slightly under 0 per barrel yesterday, US stocks remained steady, suggesting that traders think there could be hope for a diplomatic solution that would stave off chaos for the global economy.
Energy markets remained more jittery as crude oil increased more than 4%, but that was a less intense shift than markets have seen since the war broke out in late February.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
