LAST UPDATE | 13 Dec 2022

THE GOVERNMENT HAS won a motion of confidence in Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien in the Dáil this evening.

It comes after a motion of no confidence was tabled by People Before Profit-Solidarity earlier this week.

However, the Government tabled a motion of confidence in O’Brien, which was won this evening by 86 votes to 63, with one abstention.

The Government received support from a number of Independent TDs, while TDs from Sinn Féin, People Before Profit-Solidarity, Labour and the Social Democrats voted against the motion.

The Dáil has voted confidence in Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien this evening by 86 votes to 63, with one abstention pic.twitter.com/8UDrtkVu47

— Tadgh McNally (@TadghMcN) December 13, 2022

The initial motion had stated that the minister’s housing policies “are creating a catastrophic failure that is tearing apart the social fabric of Irish society”, and calls for O’Brien to be removed from office.

It also notes the failure of the Government to deliver on the “worsening housing and homelessness crisis” which the motion states is “leading to the scapegoating of refugees and International Protection applicants”.

Monthly homeless figures, which rose above 11,397 last month – the highest number ever recorded – are also highlighted in the motion’s text.

Government is set to put down a counter-motion and there is no indication that any Government TD will vote against the housing minister. 

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said yesterday that it is wrong to target an individual minister, stating that O’Brien is working hard to deal with the housing crisis. 

TD Bríd Smith has said the no confidence in the minister and his government is not being tabled for personal reasons, but is based on the fact that the housing crisis continues to deteriorate.

“The housing crisis has long been regarded as an emergency, but now we can see that it is an absolute catastrophe. Simply put, our housing system is broken thanks to successive failures of government policy,” she said. 

The motions will be debated later this afternoon, with a roll call vote taking place directly afterwards. 

Additional reporting by Tadgh McNally