Give me a crash course in... Government confidence

So, what exactly was happening in the Dáil this week?

Sinn Féin tabled a motion of no confidence in the Government this week. The Coalition put down a motion of confidence in itself, which superseded the Sinn Féin motion, and was debated by the Dáil on Tuesday evening, with a vote taking place afterwards. The Government secured a comfortable majority of 85 votes to 66.

What is the point of a motion of no confidence?

If a motion of no confidence in the Taoiseach or the Government is passed, or a motion of confidence is defeated, the Constitution dictates that both the Taoiseach and the Government must then resign. Either a replacement Taoiseach is elected by the Dáil, or the Dáil is dissolved and a general election is held.

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Why did Sinn Féin table a motion of no confidence in the first place?

The Government lost its majority in the Dáil last week after Fine Gael TD Joe McHugh voted against legislation to give homeowners affected by mica access to an enhanced grant scheme. A majority is 80 votes, and the Donegal TD’s departure meant the numbers on the Government benches dropped to 79, prompting Sinn Féin’s motion.

Its leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Coalition was “out of ideas, out of touch and out of time” and that it was “time to make way for a Government that will put workers and families first”.

Did Sinn Féin really believe their motion would collapse the Government?

No, the party knew that the Government would not collapse over this vote but instead saw the motion as an opportunity to heap more pressure on the Coalition ahead of what will be a difficult few months in terms of the cost of living crisis and the upcoming budget.

How did the Government secure a majority?

Independent TDs Michael Lowry, Cathal Berry, Peter Fitzpatrick and Seán Canney voted with the Government as did Sligo-Leitrim TD Marc MacSharry, formerly of Fianna Fáil.

Neasa Hourigan and Patrick Costello, who lost the Green Party whip earlier this year for supporting an Opposition motion, also voted with the Government as did Mr McHugh.

Wait, why did Neasa Hourigan and Patrick Costello lose the Green Party whip?

In May, the Green Party removed the party whip and suspended Patrick Costello and Neasa Hourigan from the parliamentary party for six months after they voted against the Government on the proposed relocation of the National Maternity Hospital to a site at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.

I see, was there anything interesting said by either the Government or Opposition in the debate before voting took place?

Not really, both sides used the occasion to trade insults ahead of the Dáil’s summer recess on Thursday.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the Sinn Féin motion was “deeply cynical”, “nakedly political” and “pointless” as well as “a publicity stunt”.

Ms McDonald said the housing crisis had escalated into a “housing disaster” and that the Government had bragged about its latest shared equity scheme, “a vintage Fianna Fáil move if ever there was one”, which was “designed to prop up extortionate house prices and to saddle people with additional debt”.

The Sinn Féin leader said “even if the dogs on the streets know that Minister [for Housing] O’Brien has failed abysmally” when it comes to the housing crisis.

In response, Mr O’Brien said Ms McDonald’s “arrogance” had “not just gone stratospheric; it has gone intergalactic”.

“You would need NASA’s Webb space telescope to be able to track it,” he said.

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys dismissed the motion as “the greatest load of codology” and said Sinn Féin was the “flip flop party”.