Naughten votes against No Confidence motion in housing minister

Independent TD Denis Naughten voted with the Government last night, helping to defeat the motion of no-confidence in Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy.

The motion, proposed by the Social Democrats, was defeated by 56 votes to 53.

The motion by the Social Democrats called for Housing Minister Murphy to be removed from office in light of the continuing and worsening homelessness crisis.

In a post on his website last night, the Roscommon/Galway TD, who previously was a Fine Gael TD and an independent minister in the current Government, said he had proposed legislative reform that could release some of the many vacant homes across Ireland onto the housing market as part of the reform of the Fair Deal Nursing Home Support Scheme.

He said: “Minister Murphy has committed to working with me to bringing about this change. This would make a real difference to the families currently in emergency accommodation and to families struggling to pay nursing home bills.

“Even though we are on the cusp of an election we need action and reform in the housing area not stagnation over the coming months."

Naughten described the the no-confidence motion as “a political stunt” by the Social Democrats to garner support in the recent by-elections.

“The vast majority of people that I have spoken to, while frustrated by the housing situation, have said that they do now want an election this side of Christmas,” he added.

Longford/Westmeath TD Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, who is an independent and a Minister of State voted with the Government also as did Fine Gael's Longford/Westmeath TD Peter Burke.

Fianna Fail abstained but neither of the local TDs Longford/Westmeath's Robert Troy or Roscommon/Galway's Eugene Murphy were recorded as present for the vote.

Labour's Deputy Willie Penrose was the only TD across Longford/Westmeath and Roscommon/Galway to vote in favour of the no-confidence motion.

The other local independent Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice also did not register a vote.

Earlier yesterday (Tuesday), he confirmed he had entered a pairing arrangement with Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney for the motion of no confidence.

The Roscommon-Galway TD said he agreed to the Tanaiste’s request for a pairing arrangement on the grounds that it would best serve the national interest.

As part of his role as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Coveney was due to launch a major humanitarian development in Gaza where Ireland is assisting in establishing a solar farm that will help resolve chronic water supply and sewage problems.

Without a pairing agreement, the Tanaiste would have had to cancel the visit.

Deputy Fitzmaurice said: “My decision to grant Minister Coveney a pairing was decided by the reality that it would in no way impact the outcome of the vote. Had I refused to grant the pairing arrangement with the Tanaiste, we would have simply cancelled each other out when it came to the vote anyway.

“In my view, the national interest was best served by enabling the Minister for Foreign Affairs to get on with his work. Anything else would been petty.

He added: “The Minister’s trip to Palestine is showcasing a valuable project which helps the Palestinian people and illustrates the Irish commitment to nation-building in troubled regions.

Deputy Fitzmaurice confirmed that he would, otherwise, have voted for the Social Democrats' motion of no confidence in Minister Eoghan Murphy.

However, he also queried the desire among voters for a Christmas week election.

“I would have a serious doubt as to the desire of the voters to be going to the polls in a rushed manner on Christmas week. There will be plenty of time and space in the New Year for the people to deliver their verdict on this administration in a considered fashion,” he concluded.

SEE HOW YOUR TD VOTED:

• Adams, Gerry.
• Barry, Mick.
• Boyd Barrett, Richard.
• Brady, John.
• Broughan, Thomas P.
• Buckley, Pat.
• Burton, Joan.
• Collins, Joan.
• Collins, Michael.
• Connolly, Catherine.
• Coppinger, Ruth.
• Crowe, Seán.
• Cullinane, David.
• Doherty, Pearse.
• Ellis, Dessie.
• Ferris, Martin.
• Fitzpatrick, Peter.
• Funchion, Kathleen.
• Harty, Michael.
• Healy-Rae, Danny.
• Healy-Rae, Michael.
• Healy, Seamus.
• Howlin, Brendan.
• Kelly, Alan.
• Kenny, Gino.
• Kenny, Martin.
• Martin, Catherine.
• McDonald, Mary Lou.
• McGrath, Mattie.
• Mitchell, Denise.
• Munster, Imelda.
• Murphy, Catherine.
• Murphy, Paul.
• Nolan, Carol.
• O'Brien, Joe.
• O'Brien, Jonathan.
• O'Reilly, Louise.
• O'Sullivan, Jan.
• O'Sullivan, Maureen.
• Ó Broin, Eoin.
• Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
• Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
• Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
• Penrose, Willie.
• Quinlivan, Maurice.
• Ryan, Brendan.
• Ryan, Eamon.
• Sherlock, Sean.
• Shortall, Róisín.
• Smith, Bríd.
• Stanley, Brian.
• Tóibín, Peadar.
• Ward, Mark.

• Bailey, Maria.
• Barrett, Seán.
• Breen, Pat.
• Brophy, Colm.
• Bruton, Richard.
• Burke, Peter.
• Byrne, Catherine.
• Canney, Seán.
• Cannon, Ciarán.
• Carey, Joe.
• Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
• Creed, Michael.
• D'Arcy, Michael.
• Daly, Jim.
• Deasy, John.
• Deering, Pat.
• Doherty, Regina.
• Donohoe, Paschal.
• Doyle, Andrew.
• Durkan, Bernard J.
• English, Damien.
• Farrell, Alan.
• Flanagan, Charles.
• Grealish, Noel.
• Griffin, Brendan.
• Halligan, John.
• Harris, Simon.
• Heydon, Martin.
• Humphreys, Heather.
• Kehoe, Paul.
• Kenny, Enda.
• Kyne, Seán.
• Lowry, Michael.
• Madigan, Josepha.
• McEntee, Helen.
• McGrath, Finian.
• McHugh, Joe.
• McLoughlin, Tony.
• Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
• Moran, Kevin Boxer.
• Murphy, Dara.
• Murphy, Eoghan.
• Naughten, Denis.
• Naughton, Hildegarde.
• Neville, Tom.
• Noonan, Michael.
• O'Connell, Kate.
• O'Donovan, Patrick.
• O'Dowd, Fergus.
• Phelan, John Paul.
• Ring, Michael.
• Rock, Noel.
• Ross, Shane.
• Stanton, David.
• Varadkar, Leo.
• Zappone, Katherine.

• Aylward, Bobby.
• Brassil, John.
• Breathnach, Declan.
• Byrne, Malcolm.
• Byrne, Thomas.
• Cahill, Jackie.
• Calleary, Dara.
• Casey, Pat.
• Cassells, Shane.
• Chambers, Jack.
• Chambers, Lisa.
• Collins, Niall.
• Curran, John.
• Donnelly, Stephen.
• Dooley, Timmy.
• Fleming, Sean.
• Haughey, Seán.
• Lahart, John.
• Lawless, James.
• MacSharry, Marc.
• Martin, Micheál.
• McConalogue, Charlie.
• McGrath, Michael.
• Moynihan, Aindrias.
• Moynihan, Michael.
• Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
• O'Brien, Darragh.
• O'Callaghan, Jim.
• O'Dea, Willie.
• O'Keeffe, Kevin.
• O'Loughlin, Fiona.
• O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
• Ó Cuív, Éamon.
• Scanlon, Eamon.
• Smyth, Niamh.