Irish parliament prepares for motion of no confidence in the Government

The Irish Government is to face a motion of no confidence on Tuesday.

It has been put forward by Sinn Fein, Ireland’s largest opposition party, after a week of widespread disruption caused by fuel protests.

Since the start of Israel and the US’s war on Iran, global fuel prices have spiked and some Irish hauliers and farmers have claimed rising costs could cause them to go out of business.

On Tuesday, a number of slow-moving convoys of tractors, lorries, and coaches set out from across the country causing widespread gridlock.

Demonstrators blockaded a number of ports, the country’s only oil refinery and Dublin city centre.

This played havoc with fuel distribution, and hundreds of forecourts ran dry of petrol and diesel.

Government ministers refused to engage with the protesters and instead held talks with established representative bodies in the transport and agricultural sectors.

As the protests continued, the army was called in and, on Saturday, gardai began clearing the blockades.

On Sunday, the Government announced a 505 million euro (£440 million) package of measures to tackle the high cost of fuel.

It comes on top of 250 million euro (£218 million) worth of measures announced almost three weeks ago.

The new measures include further reductions of duty on fuel, a delay in a carbon tax increase and support schemes for the haulage, transport, fishing and agriculture industries.

Speaking to RTE News on Monday, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald  said her party was bringing the motion because the Government is “utterly disconnected, utterly incompetent” and “aggravated and escalated the level of protest”.

She said cuts of 100 million euro a month to excise duty were needed, and a cut of 25 cents a litre for diesel.

The Social Democrats, Labour, People Before Profit, Aontu, The Green Party and Independent Ireland have said they would back the motion.

It is unclear how several independents who have supported the Fianna Fail-Fine Gael coalition government will vote.

The Government will table a counter vote of confidence in response to the Sinn Fein motion.

A spokesperson said: “The Government remains focused on supporting people during this global energy price shock, while Sinn Fein, who tabled this motion before anything was announced yesterday, and other members of the opposition are focused on performative stunts.”