Attempting to destabilise the Government during the current crisis has been described as “reckless” by a former Clare TD and Senator.
It comes ahead of Sinn Féin’s motion of no confidence in the Government, which will be brought before the Dáil tomorrow.
The government’s also due to table a motion of confidence in itself.
Independent TDs have been setting out their stalls ahead of a vote of no confidence in the Government this week.
Fine Gael Deputy Joe McHugh and Fianna Fáil’s Marc McSharry are among those expected to vote in support of government, despite both members losing their party’s whip.
There’s also an expectation that Nessa Hourigan and Patrick Costello, who lost the Green party whip, will either abstain or vote with government, bolstering its slim majority.
While, Noel Grealish, Michael Lowry and Peter Fitzpatrick have generally voted solidly with the Government all the way through.
Clare’s Michael McNamara has already indicated he’ll back the motion, as will Marian Harkin who says it’s important the Government is held to account.
A former Clare Minister For Defence says he doesn’t believe the outcome of the vote is in doubt.
Tony Killeen says the coalition’s extraordinary achievement is that the Summer Economic Statement, the Central Bank Quarterly Review and the International Monetary Fund report are all positive in terms of government performance.
The Former Clare Fianna Fáil TD finds it “surprising”, however, that Sinn Féin chose to pursue this motion over it’s planned motion on housing.
The vote comes as the Oireachtas prepares to take its summer break on Thursday, and while it isn’t unusual for opposition parties to table such a motion at this time of year, the move has received some criticism.
Clare’s first female TD and former Senator Madeline Taylor Quinn has described the motion as a cynical exercise given the current climate.
The former Fine Gael TD believes the public has no appetite for an election at the moment or these kind of “political shenanigans”.
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