Sinn Fein has confirmed it will file a motion of censure with the Irish government after the three-party coalition lost its majority after a vote earlier in the week.
Leader Mary Lou McDonald said the party will present the motion to next week’s newspaper as the government “has now lost its parliamentary majority and is not facing the cost of living and the housing crisis.” .
Former Education Minister Joe McHugh voted against the government’s bill to repair the bit, which aims to compensate homeowners in four counties affected by faulty building blocks.
The government has said it is confident it will win the vote.
It comes after a member of the center-right Fine Gael resigned from the party on Wednesday after voting against a government-presented bill, which also includes center-right Fianna Fail of Prime Minister Micheal Martin and the Green Party.
Former Education Minister Joe McHugh voted against the government’s mica repair plan bill, which aims to compensate homeowners in four counties affected by faulty building blocks.
He leaves the coalition with 79 seats in the lower house of 160 seats. However, some of the other lawmakers who have left the government over the past two years continue to support it in the main polls.
“Sure, it can garner majorities of votes one by one, but two years later we believe this government has run out of way,” McDonald told RTE Morning Ireland. “It simply came to our notice then. They have no ideas. “
With Sinn Fein, Ireland’s main opposition party, also well ahead of any other party in opinion polls, it is unlikely that those aligned with the government will vote to overthrow it and advance the scheduled elections. for 2025.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney
(PA child)
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said he was very confident the government would win the vote, noting that he passed by four votes the controversial bill his colleague resigned this week.
“I think we will have a strong work majority and that will be clear this week,” Coveney told RTE.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe accused Sinn Fein of being interested in “building a culture of instability”.
“For the last two years, this is a country that has faced an extraordinary test in a pandemic and during that time we have had to take extraordinary measures that included the closure of the construction sector for a period of time,” said Donohoe.
“This government has put in place measures that have helped our country recover from a pandemic, have helped our economy recover from a pandemic, have helped society deal with a threat like the one that we have never faced.
Additional reports from agencies