Letters sent by Independent TDs stating they will support the Government on a “case-by-case” basis have sparked annoyance at senior levels in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, leading to questions over the true size of the coalition’s majority.
Three TDs previously assumed to be bound to support the Government after programme for government talks wrote to Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy last week as a row over Dáil speaking time came to a peak last Thursday.
All three wrote to Ms Murphy saying they could not be considered Government backbenchers in any circumstances, and would cast their votes on a “case-by-case” basis.
Two of the three – Dublin Bay North’s Barry Heneghan and Meath East’s Gillian Toole – were part of the Regional Independent Group led by Michael Lowry, while a third, Kerry’s Danny Healy-Rae, negotiated alongside his brother Micheal, who became a Junior Minister in the coalition government.
Independent TDs Mattie McGrath and Carol Nolan also wrote letters outlining the same, but they are not considered part of the Government’s majority.
Mr Lowry also wrote to Ms Murphy saying he could not be considered a Government backbencher, although he did not say his vote was on a case-by-case basis.
Ms Murphy rejected the contention outlined by the letters, pointing to previous statements by the TDs concerned. However, while the Government remains confident of its majority and believes it can count on the ongoing support of at least Mr Lowry and Mr Healy Rae, the intervention nonetheless led to annoyance at senior levels.
One senior coalition figure said that party leaders Micheál Martin and Simon Harris were “very annoyed” by the letters, while a second outlined the view that the Government could now effectively rely on the votes of 91 TDs, rather than the 95 presumed after the coalition was formed.
There is also annoyance as the negotiators who represented the Independents in government formation talks did so on the basis they represented a total of nine votes between the regional Independents and the Healy-Rae brothers.
Sources in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael said that five ministerial jobs were given to members of these groupings on the basis of nine votes being secured for the Government. “We have five Ministers and five votes,” one said.
Governments tend to lose TDs on thorny issues or to other circumstances over the course of a Dáil term. The previous coalition lost one TD to illness, two more who left their parliamentary parties without returning, while two Green TDs were without the party whip for periods.
Mr Heneghan, Mr Lowry, Ms Toole and Mr Healy-Rae did not respond to requests for comment.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
