Government wins confidence vote in Justice Minister Helen McEntee

The Government has won a vote of confidence in Minister of Justice Helen McEntee after hours of heated debate on both her record and that of the main opposition party Sinn Fein.

The Government won the vote by 83 votes to 63. There was one abstention.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald had accused Ms McEntee of failing “abysmally” in her responsibilities as the Dail debated the motion of confidence in her post following a stabbing attack and violent riot in Dublin city centre.

The Government compared Ms McDonald to former US president Donald Trump as Sinn Fein was accused of “exploiting” the violent events for originally tabling a motion of no confidence in Ms McEntee.

Ms McDonald told the Dail on Tuesday: “It is the responsibility of the Minister for Justice to ensure that our streets are safe, to ensure that An Garda Siochana have the resources that they need. And she has failed in these responsibilities abysmally with very dire consequences.”

She added: “The minister’s position is untenable and she must go.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the original Sinn Fein motion was a “political stunt” as he expressed full confidence in the minister.

He said: “Removing the Justice Minister and the Garda Commissioner, which is Sinn Fein policy, would be a victory for those who engaged in violence and incited violence on our streets.”

Mr Varadkar accused Ms McDonald of engaging in “absolutely disgraceful behaviour” after she said it took “nearly two weeks” for the Government to reach out to the school community affected by the stabbing, in a remark understood to be about ministers meeting parents at the affected school.

He said: “The leader of the opposition has quite disgracefully misled the Dail. There was contact from the Government with the school within 24 hours of the events.

“Several ministers did so. She knows that, it’s deliberate misleading and it should be withdrawn. I call on her to be decent for once and withdraw it.”

Minister Josepha Madigan further described the Sinn Fein leader as “Mary Lou Trump” over the comments.

Ms McDonald said she would not withdraw the remark and that she had stated facts.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin expressed confidence in Ms McEntee and accused Sinn Fein of seeking to “intimidate opponents and journalists alike”.

He added: “The cynicism and aggression continues to directly undermine the ability of our democratic institutions and democratically elected representatives to work constructively on issues.”

Labour justice spokesman Aodhan O Riordan said there had been a “cross-government failure” to properly resource An Garda Siochana as he said the party would not be supporting the Government’s motion in confidence for the Justice Minister.

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said it was justifiable to seek accountability following an “absence of collaboration” from the Government on safety in the city.

In her contribution, Ms McEntee accused Sinn Fein of “using an appalling situation to play politics” and seeking to “undermine An Garda Siochana” following a stabbing and riot in Dublin city centre.

Ms McEntee told the Dail prior to the vote: “It is a great honour to be Minister for Justice, Ceann Comhairle. I see it as my duty to build stronger, safer communities.”

She said one of her top priorities has been tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence as she also highlighted her work on legislation for body-worn cameras, facial recognition technology and a record budget for gardai.

Ms McEntee said Sinn Fein wanted instability, adding: “Their mantra is to sack, sue and bully.”

“It may surprise (Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou) McDonald to know this is not an episode of The Apprentice, you can’t fire your way out of the situation.”

After two hours of debate on confidence in her position and the Government’s handling of policing, the minister concluded: “It has been a difficult few weeks, above all for the victims of the recent appalling attack, for their families and their community.

“They remain at the forefront of my mind. So too is the safety of the Irish people.

“All of my actions during my time in office have been taken to make people safer, and make them feel safer. It is for this reason I will continue working to build stronger, safer communities.

“And I will not be deterred by a Sinn Fein party which seeks to sow division and disunity for its own ends.”

She was applauded by members of the Government benches.