Minister says no one in Government knew Healy Rae was going to resign
Vivienne Clarke
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley has said no one in Government knew in advance that Michael Healy Rae was going to resign.
“I don't believe anyone knew in advance,” she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
It was a matter for Healy Rae himself how he had “handled himself”.
“We'd never like to see anybody walk away, but having said that, there was a motion of confidence in the government last night. The government won that motion of confidence by a margin of 14 votes. I think that's significant.
“We're all very conscious that we're in a time of global crisis, global turmoil.
"It's at times like these that the country needs a steady, secure, stable government. The government is providing that. The Dáil last night endorsed that leadership, that government, and we've a job of work to do.
“We don't walk away when things get difficult. So we'll do the job.
“But I do believe that leadership calls us to lead. You're asking me, I suppose, in many respects, was I surprised by what happened? I was, in many respects, because 24 hours earlier, Michael had put out a video saying he endorsed the package.
"He believes it was a very good deal for the people of Ireland, something for everyone, that he would be voting confidence in the government. He would be voting confidence in himself, in effect, which is what he had said. So I am surprised that he did what he did.”
It would have been helpful to know in advance, she said. But that was a matter for Michael and Danny Healy Rae. She regretted seeing them walk away, but it was a matter for themselves
“Politics is unpredictable by its nature. People can make unpredictable decisions also at difficult and challenging times. Why that decision was made and how it was made is a matter for both Michael and Danny. I personally don't have any quibble with either of the two of them.
“I regret to see them walking away. That's a matter for themselves. I personally believe you govern in the good times and you govern in the bad times. You govern when there are challenges. You don't expect every day to be seamless and rosy in government.”
Foley said the vacant position in the Department of Agriculture would be filled following Cabinet discussion.
She denied there was any discord within the Cabinet. “This is a cohesive government. This is a team in government that is working right through a difficult international situation, but doing the work that needs to be done. It's cohesive, it's working, it's doing the job of government.”
It comes as a non-party Kerry County councillor has said that it was a mistake for Michael Healy Rae to resign from the Government.
Niall “Botty” O’Callaghan told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that he understood that Healy Rae had to listen to the people who voted for him, but he thought it would have been better to “stay there.”
“From his point of view, you're not going to find a harder working person in the Dáil, and he'll continue to do that, but it's like a football analogy for the people who did want him to leave.
"I suppose if it were me and if he had asked me for my decision, I would have said, stay in there and be a voice inside the house. Because the government had the numbers.
“So I think people need to calm down a little bit and understand that this government were elected and it was a democratic election.”
O’Callaghan did not think staying in government would have had an impact on Healy Rae’s political career.
“At the end of the day, you're not going to go from 18,000 votes to not being elected in the next election. So I think it was more out of loyalty that Michael made that decision, because again, as I said, I probably would have stayed in there.”
Kerry could now be “worse off” with the departure of Healy Rae from Government, he said. “I go back to the football analogy. It's like having a star corner forward and putting him in a corner back now. It's disappointing. It's disappointing for Michael. It's disappointing for everybody in the county.
"Many of the things that Michael and Danny promised. And I mentioned Michael, but Danny's also part of this. You're not going to meet, in the whole of Ireland, you're not going to meet two harder-working people in your life.
“And I'm saying that, and I'm in the political game against the Healy Raes. But they're a machine. They're an absolute machine, and it won't stop. It won't stop.”
Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said he agreed with Michael Healy Rae’s decision to resign from Government.
Gannon said that Healy Rae was an “on the ground” politician and his actions reflected the voices of the people who voted for him.
There was “a level of hurt” among the public; people were having to choose between heat or charging their electric wheelchairs, while the government remained “aloof and arrogant” and had lost control.
An election would happen sooner rather than later, he said.
