Government wins vote on motion of confidence in Kenny

The Government has won a Dáil vote on a motion of confidence in Taoiseach Enda Kenny by 94 to 52.

The vote followed a three-hour debate during which the Opposition strongly criticised Mr Kenny's involvement in the series of events leading to the resignation of former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan.

Mr Kenny, strongly backed by several Government speakers, insisted he had been vindicated by the Fennelly report into the controversy.

Sinn Fein speakers said the party would have supported the sacking of Mr Callinan by the Cabinet which could have been done under the Constitution. It joined in criticism of Mr Kenny for his role in the controversy.

Both Mr Kenny and Attorney General Máire Whelan came in for criticism over the events leading up to the departure of Mr Callinan when the Dáil resumed on Tuesday after the summer recess.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin accused Mr Kenny of withholding information, twisting statistics and refusing to answer questions about Mr Callinan's retirement.

Mr Kenny opted to introduce a motion of confidence in himself in response to a motion of no confidence tabled by Fianna Fáil over the Fennelly findings. He re-iterated what he called the “clear and unambiguous findings” of the Fennelly Commission.

He said moves to sack Mr Callinan were never discussed and that the interim report by Mr Justice Nial Fennelly re-affirmed confidence in him.

The Taoiseach also said he had “absolute confidence” in the Attorney General Máire Whelan, who has been criticised over delays in informing the Government about the taping of phone calls in Garda stations.

Mr Martin described Ms Whelan as an honourable person but said "it is a pity that she has failed to do the honourable thing and be accountable for her part in this affair".

Her office was aware of the issue of the tapes four months before the events of March last year which culminated in Mr Callinan’s departure.

“She did not have or present the full information to the Taoiseach and contributed to the unprecedented forced departure of the commissioner.”

Mr Kenny claimed the tabling of motions of no confidence in him and the Attorney General “has more to do with the competition between opposition parties” than any real interest in the issue.

Mr Martin described the Fennelly report as “damning and the facts it details are much worse than anything alleged in this House”.

He said it was a mark of how low Fine Gael and Labour had sunk that "they claim as vindication a report which shows chaos at the centre of government and a Taoiseach incapable of owning up to the implications of his own actions".

Mr Kenny said Mr Martin had accused him of sacking Mr Callinan and should correct the record of the Dáil given the interim findings of the Fennelly report. In failing to do so, Mr Martin would follow the long tradition of Fianna Fáil leaders not to accept reports of Supreme Court judges.

Tánaiste Joan Burton said she had full confidence in the Taoiseach and in the Attorney General, “who was central to ensuring that the concerns around the force would be investigated fully and appropriately’’.

Ms Burton said the Government had reiterated its commitment to extensive reform of policing through the establishment of an independent authority.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan praised Ms Whelan and said he had “full confidence in the Attorney General”.

“She is a most dedicated patriotic woman who works all sorts of late hours to service the Government with appropriate legal advice.”

Socialist Party TD Ruth Coppinger said the version of events presented by the Taoiseach to the House on the Fennelly report belied its content.

Independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan said the confidence motion was misplaced and mistimed because voters would have an opportunity in a short time to say if they confidence in the Government in a general election.

Sinn Fein deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said Mr Callinan’s “goose was cooked” when he described garda whistleblowers as “disgusting” and that she had some sympathy for the position the Taoiseach found himself in.

“It is my view that the commissioner had to go. His credibility was shot. Public confidence in him and by extension unfortunately in the Garda at the time was under incredible pressure,” she said.

However, she said by sending the then secretary general of the Department of Justice to Mr Callinan’s house the Taoiseach “chose to put a serving senior civil servant under the most incredible pressure to do something and to carry out an instruction that he believed to be wrong”.

“And you used that individual as a proxy as a mechanism to do your dirty work for you...You put arm’s length and deniable distance between yourself and the resignation of the commissioner. And I believe you did that in a very deliberate and a very calculated fashion.”

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said that the Taoiseach "in effect sacked" the former Garda Commissioner and that the "dubious actions of the Taoiseach and his circle in the events leading to the resignation of the former Garda Commissioner leads to unavoidable comparisons with the Fianna Fáil style of government".

Mr Adams accused the government of creating a society that “has become increasingly polarised”.

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney accused Mr Martin of displaying “contrived outrage” and said he was “trying to rewrite a report that has answered the question”.

“You bet the House on a different result and it hasn’t transpired,” he said. “You have actually ignored the assessment of the only person who has actually interviewed everybody involved in this issue.”

Mr Coveney said there was a lot in the Fennelly report that was of concern and required a Government response. “It is getting a Government response in terms of probably the most fundamental reform of justice in Ireland that we have seen, certainly in my lifetime in politics.”

Alan Shatter, who was minister for justice at the time of Mr Callinan’s resignation, is not expected to vote on the motion due to it being a Jewish holiday.

A spokeswoman for Mr Shatter confirmed he would not be voting or participating in the debate due to Yom Kippur.