Clare’s Independent TD says the Housing Minister simply isn’t doing enough in his role.
Dr Michael Harty has confirmed that he will vote no confidence in Minister Eoghan Murphy, as he prepares to face his second such ballot in 15 months.
It’s expected that the Minister will survive, however.
It’s crunch day for Eoghan Murphy as he prepares to face another motion of no confidence in him, this time from the Social Democrats.
The Housing Minister survived a similar motion by Sinn Féin just 15 months ago, but with homeless figures continuing to rise, pressure is mounting on him once again.
Fianna Fáil is abstaining from the vote, saying they don’t want to trigger an early election, while opposition parties are backing it.
That means the fate of the vote will fall on Independents, including some who usually support the government like Noel Grealish and Michael Lowry
Despite abstaining the last time such a motion was put down against the Minister, Clare’s Independent TD Dr Michael Harty says now, it’s time for change.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has defended his party’s decision not to partake in the vote.
Speaking outside Leinster House, he stood firm on his stance that Fine Gael will be held accountable at the polling stations and not in a Dáil vote.
Meanwhile, the Minister himself is defending his performance, pointing to an increase in the number of homes built under his tenure, as well as the number of families who have exited homeless.
That’s despite a growth in the number of people in Emergency Accommodation during Eoghan Murphy’s tenure.
Today, he has hit out at the Social Democrats, labelling their motion as nothing more than a stunt
