The Government comfortably defeated a motion of no-confidence put down by Sinn Fein with a showdown in the Dáil in which the Taoiseach accused the party of “aggressive populism.”
Sinn Fein took aim at the Government and targeted their failure of the housing crisis telling the Taoiseach “the housing disaster was created by you..it is sustained by you.”
While the Government heckled Sinn Fein over their climate plans, said they “demonised” landlords, while Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said if Sinn Fein were in power, anyone “that does a day’s work would be taxed to the hilt.”
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She slammed the motion as “the greatest load of codology” and said “whatever way the wind blows, Sinn Fein goes.”
The Coalition slapped down the motion of no-confidence with the help of a number of Independent TDs including Michael Lowry, Cathal Berry, Sean Canney.
Two Green TDs who had the whip removed, Neasa Hourigan and Patrick Costello also voted confidence in the Government.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party tabled the motion in the Government because “we believe that change is needed now more than ever.”
She said: “Not only has this government failed to make improvements in the areas that really matter to people, but it has also made things so much worse.
“This is especially true in housing, in healthcare and in dealing with a cost-of-living crisis that has pushed households to the brink.”
She said on the Taoiseach’s watch the housing crisis has escalated to a housing disaster.
Renters are ripped off, robbed of their money and dream of owning a home, she told the Dáil.
She said the homeless crisis is back to record levels and “kids are growing up in hotels and BBs, robbed of a decent childhood.”
She said: “For any state that calls itself a republic, one child homeless is a scandal.
“But hundreds of children homeless is a damning indictment of those in power.
“The dogs on the street can see that Minister O’Brien has failed abysmally.
“He needs to be at the front of the queue when this government packs its bags.”
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien hit back and took aim at MsDonald which resulted in loud laughter in the Dáil.
He said: “My God Deputy McDonald, your arrogance today has not just gone stratospheric, it’s gone intergalactic you’d need NASA’s webb telescope to be able to track it.”
Minister O’Brien, his party colleagues and Fine Gael TDs shouted at Sinn Fein that they “block progress and delay delivery of housing.”
Sinn Fein said the Government has failed on housing, healthcare and tackling the cost of living crisis.
While the Government TDs mentioned pulling through Covid, success and reform in education, their plans to tackle the housing crisis and high employment among a number of things they said they were proud of.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin accused Sinn Fein of cynicism, aggressive populism and dishonesty.
He moved a motion that the Dáil has confidence in the Government and welcomed what he called a debate "between those who believe in tackling problems, and those who believe in exploiting them."
The Government won the confidence motion with 85 TDs voting with the Coalition and 66 against.
He said: “They [Sinn Fein] push aside the fact that the government confronted and overcame the challenges of an historic pandemic and recession – demanding today that we be condemned for not delivering everything in two years.
“When we hear the loud and aggressive speeches of the opposition that nothing is being done..It is the same aggressive populist politics which we are seeing in much of the world at the moment.
“But this will not last, because the extreme cynicism of this strategy is becoming clearer by the day.”
“It will run out of road. It will be found out.”
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