Sinn Féin to table no-confidence motion in Helen McEntee
Violent scenes were seen in Dublin following a knife attack in the city last week. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Dublin
Sinn Féin has tabled a motion of no confidence in Justice Minister Helen McEntee, Mary Lou McDonald has announced.
Ms McDonald announced the plan this morning. Ms McEntee remains under pressure following the Dublin riots that broke out last Thursday.
Speaking to reporters, Ms McDonald said it is “very clear” that control was lost on the streets of Dublin.
“It’s clear that the riots, this violence, this public disorder could have been foreseen, should have been foreseen, could have been prevented or contained through earlier action on the day and had there been any leadership from the Garda Commissioner or the Minister for Justice,” Ms McDonald said.
“It’s very clear that for a very long time now, people have felt unsafe on the streets of Dublin’s inner city.”
She added that this feeling is due to the Government’s decision to previously close Garda stations.
The riots in Dublin occurred after three children and a woman were injured in a stabbing outside a primary school on Parnell Square East last week.
Two girls aged 6 and 5, and a five-year-old boy as well as creche worker Leanne Flynn, who is in her 30s, were all stabbed.
Two children have since been discharged from hospital while Ms Flynn is in a serious but stable condition at the Mater hospital.
The five-year-old girl remains in a critical condition in CHI Temple Street where her family are keeping a vigil.
Ms McDonald said that the “catastrophic failure” in both policing and keeping people safe has led her party to put down a motion of no-confidence in Ms McEntee, which will face a vote on Tuesday.
The Justice Minister has remained adamant that she would win a confidence vote, saying that she retains the full support of her Government colleagues.
"I have full support of my party, the full support of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the support of my cabinet colleagues. I'm focused on my work and everybody else's as well," Ms McEntee said.
Sinn Féin had previously indicated that it would use its private members time for a justice-related debate, but party sources indicated last night that they were "leaning that way" towards a no-confidence motion.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that he is confident the Government will win the vote, adding that it shows Sinn Féin are only interested in exploiting the crisis.
"One shouldn't be seeking to gain electoral or political advantage, in my view, on the basis of such an event that we experienced," Mr Martin said, describing the riot as an attack on the State.
Meanwhile, Ms McDonald has also defended her decision to tweet a photo of a homeless man drinking near the school where the knife attack took place, saying that the party is not equating homelessness and alcoholism with anti-social behaviour.
“No party has been more active or will be more active in terms of advocating for the homeless and for homes for rough sleepers, sofa surfers and people who have been failed by the Government,” Ms McDonald said.
“People are vulnerable because the State and successive governments have left them in vulnerable positions. There’s no question about that.
“But that does not mean that at schools and in working class communities that it is okay or tolerable that you have just routine and anti-social behaviour.
“People have to live, kids have to go to school safely.”
Mr Martin called on Ms McDonald to apologise for posting the photo on social media, saying it was a "shocking thing to do".
