Politics

Varadkar on brink: Irish Government could CRUMBLE as fragile Brexit alliance at risk


Fianna Fáil member John McGuinness has warned he will back a motion of no confidence in the Irish Government if one is tabled in the country’s Parliament, the Dáil. It would be a huge statement of intent against Mr Varadkar, as this would be in defiance of party policy to abstain in confidence votes as part of the deal struck to facilitate his Fine Gael-led minority Government. Mr McGuinness, who has a strained relationship with party leader Michael Martin, branded the confidence-­and-supply arrangement a “farce”, and said he hopes it quickly comes to an end in 2020.

The member of parliament launched the scathing attack during a debate in the Dáil about solutions to the housing crisis sweeping across Ireland.

He said: “If someone puts down a motion of no confidence in the Government, I’ll vote for it because that is the way it should be.”

Mr Varadkar was given brief respite on Tuesday evening when a Christmas general election was averted after the Government scarped a victory by just three votes in a motion of no confidence in Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy.

The Government narrowly defeated the motion by 56 votes to 53, with Fianna Fáil abstaining and therefore Mr McGuinness not participating.

During the debate in Ireland’s Parliament, Mr McGuinness lashed out at the Government’s record since the last general election in 2016, claiming it has “failed miserably” in its obligation to keep people safe.

He argued “some of the biggest issues” like evictions and repossessions could only be solved by tackling the source, which he said was the banks.

Mr McGuinness also took a shot at his own party for abstaining from the no confidence vote, saying Fianna Fáil “sat on its hands”.

The party member raged it was repeat of what happened in a previous no confidence motion in Health Minister Simon Harris, and said the Cabinet had acted together.

It has been a disastrous week for the under-fire Mr Varadkar, with his Housing Minister Mr Murphy facing the vote of no confidence, threatening an already fragile Brexit alliance.

His Fine Gael party failed to win any of last week’s by-elections and his strength in the Dail is set to be further reduced this month when Dara Murphy takes up a new job at the European Commission.

Defeat for Eoghan Murphy in the confidence vote on Tuesday could have spelt the end for the minority Government and triggered a snap election.

Government sources had admitted the vote was on a knife-edge but despite the threat to the coalition, they were still confident Mr Murphy – and by extension the Varadkar administration – would survive.

One insider said: “My only fear is an accident. Someone drops dead or takes an asthma attack.”

Independent Alliance Minister John Halligan said he would be backing Mr Murphy despite admitting there was a housing crisis.

Communications Minister Richard Bruton said he was “absolutely confident” the motion against Mr Murphy would fail.

He defended his ministerial colleague, insisting Mr Murphy was “doing a great job” and delivering an annual 25 percent increase in supply in both social and private housing.

He said: “It was the toxic relationship between property and banking that destroyed this country and he has had to rebuild a housing model on the ashes of that disastrous scheme that was there before.”

Mr Bruton said the motion of no confidence in Mr Murphy was “political opportunism by one of the parties of the Dáil”.

A spokesman for the Housing Minister said more than 50,000 homes have been built over the past three years and described the Social Democrats’ motion as a “stunt”.

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall rejected the claim and insisted her party tabled the confidence motion as housing was the “number one issue affecting the country” and it “affects people in all walks of life”.



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