A Clare Independent TD has confirmed she will honour her pairing agreement with Minister Helen McEntee and abstain from today’s eviction ban vote.
A motion of confidence in the Government got underway in the past hour, with Ministers seeking to rally the troops, after Labour put forward the motion over the lifting of the eviction ban.
Last week, Violet Anne Wynne announced she would be severing her pair with Minister Helen McEntee in order to vote against the Government amendment to the Sinn Féin Private Members’ Motion on ending the eviction ban.
However, she told Clare FM’s Morning Focus it’s now her opinion that this week’s second eviction ban extension vote will fall, as the Government have bought and sold the necessary votes to do that.
The former Sinn Féin TD, turned Independent, says she will not be in discussions with Government to vote in their favour today, but she will be resuming her pair with Minister McEntee.
Deputy Wynne says “the exercise of trading political blows for the majority of today will not keep a roof over the head of any family in Clare, or the rest of Ireland.
“At the end of today’s sitting everyone who thought that they were right when it started will still hold the same views.
“I do want to note that the Government choosing to use their time this morning to put forward a confidence motion in themselves as a reactive measure to Labour’s no-confidence motion is deeply disappointing, as it means that we will have no Topical Issues on a Wednesday for the next three consecutive weeks.
“It’s a waste of Dáil time and our constituents deserve better”, she said.
Listen to the full interview below
