A day of seismic Cabinet division

Dissent reigns in Coalition as Dáil adjourns... Craig Hughes talks us through day of chaos

‘He needs to resign immediately’

CRACKS were already visible in the Coalition – but yesterday a series of crises turned those fractures into deep chasms, threatening the Government’s very foundations.

Just six weeks in, the position of two leading Green Party TDs hangs in the balance after they failed to back the Government’s position on a Bill relating to evictions and rent freezes.

One of them was the Greens’ chief whip, Neasa Hourigan, whose role is to ensure the party’s TDs toe the line when voting.

Instead, she whipped up a storm – just before the Dáil adjourns for its six-week summer break – by voting against the Government, and later resigned her position as chief whip of the party.

Meanwhile, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar was forced to deny there was any ‘conspiracy’ behind the

Foreign Affairs Minister bagging himself a €200,000-a-year State car and drivers.

And all of this in a day that saw the single biggest surge in Covid-19 cases since May – threatening to yet again pause Phase 4 of the Government’s roadmap.

In the latest setback, Green Party junior minister Joe O’Brien abstained on a vote on a Government Bill while one of its TDs voted against the legislation.

But confusion and anger reigned afterwards when it emerged that Ms Hourigan added insult to injury by actually voting against the Government’s Residential Tenancies and Valuation Bill 2020.

The maverick Green was forced to resign as the party’s whip after voting against the legislation which extended the current rent freeze and eviction ban for those impacted by Covid-19.

However, Ms Hourigan voted in favour of a Labour Party amendment which would have extended the legislation to all tenants. Meanwhile, Junior Minister Joe O’Brien supported the Government on the amendments, but abstained on the overall Bill.

The Government now looks as though it could lose a second minister in its first six weeks after the sacking of Barry Cowen as Agriculture Minister following his drink-driving furore.

It also follows a number of Government TDs voting for Independent Catherine Connolly to be the Dáil’s Leas-Cheann Comhairle instead of Fine Gael’s nominee, Fergus O’Dowd.

But yesterday’s open display of dissent was seismic and unexpected.

It is highly irregular for a Government minister or junior minister to vote against a Government Bill, and many in Cabinet wanted heads to roll.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs were furious over the lack of support from their Green colleagues.

One Cabinet minister told the Mail that a ‘sacking’ would be the traditional punishment for such high level disobedience but admitted it was unlikely to come to that.

A separate Cabinet minister said they were concerned about the future of the Government if they were unable to pass legislation that was seen as being ‘straightforward’ when there is controversial and unpopular decisions to be made in the coming months.

‘We have a lot of difficult work to get through to steer this country through the crisis caused by the pandemic when the Dáil returns after the summer recess,’ they said. ‘If we can’t get through a relatively benign piece of legislation like this what hope do we have for the rest of it?’

One incensed junior minister said: ‘You can’t [as a minister] vote against the Government, it’s ridiculous.

‘There’s collective responsibility, you can’t get everything you want.’

Another said: ‘He needs to resign immediately, that’s the end of it, you can’t go against Government.’

In a statement last night, Ms Hourigan said she voted against the amendments and the Bill because she had ‘significant concerns’ about the impact it would have on those living ‘in precarious tenancies’.

Ms Hourigan also voted against her party’s decision to go into Government, with one of the primary reasons cited by her at the time being it did not go far enough in the area of housing. She said: ‘The Government’s legislation does not offer enough protection for renters on eviction due to sale, recognised as a driver of homelessness, nor does it sufficiently recognise the risks posed by the rent arrears accrued during the pandemic.’

Ms Hourigan claimed her vote was ‘in line with Green Party policy’ and the legislation did not match what was agreed in the Programme for Government. ‘While I accept that this

stance may lead to negative repercussions for me personally, I wish to remain an active member of this government and a Green Party parliamentarian. I want to work with my colleagues to progress legislation that protects the rights and dignity of all people in Ireland and enhances their quality of life during the difficult time of the pandemic and beyond,’ she said.

Ms Hourigan said she made her concerns known to colleagues earlier his week about the Bill. However, her fellow TDs were ‘shocked’ when she voted against it.

Minutes after Ms Hourigan voted against the legislation, a press release was issued by the Just Transition Greens, a newly founded affiliate grouping of the party viewed as a potential breakaway faction within the party, announcing her vote against the Bill.

The statement was issued by one of the founders of the organisation, Professor John Barry, a lecturer at Queens University Belfast where Ms Hourigan previously lectured.

Prof. Barry told the Mail that he had no advance notice of her intention to vote against the Bill despite the hastily released statement.

He said the Green Party was ‘losing a lot of talent because of going into government’ and Just

Transition was aimed at maintaining the link with them.

Inside the Convention Centre last night, where the makeshift Dáil sits to accommodate votes, there was widespread confusion and anger amongst TDs from all parties. They huddled together in cliques frantically discussing the day’s dramatic events. Some more noticeable than others.

Ms Hourigan sat downstairs in the canteen with Green TDs Patrick Costello and Francis Noel Duffy, both of whom were against entering Government. They were later joined by Joe O’Brien and deputy leader Catherine Martin, who is married to Mr Duffy.

A larger group of Green TDs, seen as Eamon Ryan loyalists, gathered on the first floor of the building.

Last week Green Party leader Eamon Ryan narrowly retained the leadership of his party by just 48 votes in a contest with Ms Martin.

Both Mr Ryan and Ms Martin were absent from the Convention Centre yesterday due to committee commitments in Leinster House.

Mr O’Brien did not reply to a request for comment last night.

The Bill was ultimately passed by the Dáil and will now be debated in the Seanad before being signed into law by the President.

Ryan and Ms Martin absent for vote