THIS WEEK, IRELAND endured its most consequential ‘motion of no confidence’ since the last time I was on a dancefloor.

Under pressure over its handling of what were popularly known as the ‘fuel protests’, the government preempted Sinn Féin’s motion — supported by virtually all opposition politicians — by putting forth a ‘confidence’ motion of their own, which passed 92-78. They did, however, lose a minister in the process.

The government appeared to be caught off guard by Michael Healy-Rae’s announcement that not only was he taking his ball and going home, but that he’d be taking his brother with him. Healy-Rae resigned his post, citing ‘people begging on the side of the road’ and ‘grown men crying’ in the context of the fuel protests (protests which were joined in-person and supported online by many individuals espousing anti-immigration and anti-LGBT views). 

The departure of the Healies-Rae exposed at once both the precarious position of the government, while also highlighting a contradiction in Healy-Rae’s own account. After all, there are people literally begging across Ireland, to say nothing of, for example, a massive homelessness and housing crisis. There have been people suffering just as much as, if not more than, the agricultural contractors, hauliers, farmers and individuals of chequered past who set up shop on O’Connell St and elsewhere last week.

These people don’t affect Healy-Rae’s electoral bottom-line, though, and so he is perfectly happy to abandon playing at the national level and return to his more regional and sectoral-specific approach to public service. 

The next day, Martin was forced to take time from his busy schedule to address the concerns of Fianna Fáil’s three youngest TDs, who had collaborated on a letter — presumably at the behest of whichever boy is oldest, strongest, fastest or, perhaps, has the best Pokémon cards —........

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