Politics

Noel Grealish becomes latest Independent TD set to back Simon Harris for taoiseach

Galway West TD confirms his voting intention in the Dáil next week following meeting with new Fine Gael leader

Independent TD Noel Grealish: to vote for Simon Harris. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Cormac McQuinn
Thu Apr 4 2024 - 15:26

Noel Grealish is the latest Independent TD to confirm he will vote for Fine Gael leader Simon Harris to become taoiseach in the Dáil next week.

The pair met on Thursday morning and the Galway West TD said afterwards that he will be voting for Mr Harris on Tuesday. He offered no details on what was discussed at the meeting.

Mr Harris now has the expected support of five Independent TDs, boosting the Government’s slim Dáil majority.

The others are Roscommon-Galway TD Denis Naughten, Sligo-Leitrim TD Marc MacSharry, Tipperary TD Michel Lowry and Donegal’s Joe McHugh, a former Fine Gael Cabinet minister who is without the whip,

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Another Independent TD, Galway East’s Seán Canney met Mr Harris earlier this week. He said he is waiting for the Fine Gael leader to revert to him on some issues and he has not yet decided on which way he will vote.

Kildare South Independent TD Cathal Berry met Mr Harris on Thursday morning.

Prior to the meeting, Mr Berry, who voted for both Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar as taoiseach in 2020 and 2022, said a mini-budget before the Dáil rises for its summer break was “vital”, and that he wanted to see extra measures for small businesses and farmers.

After the talks Mr Berry said he had a “good discussion” with Mr Harris on “national security, a financial support package for sectors in difficulty, how best to address the cost of living crisis and the need to expedite school building projects.”

He told The Irish Times he will will discuss outcome with his team and supporters and “then consider how best to proceed” when it comes to how he will vote in the Dáil next week.

Mr Harris has ruled out doing deals with Independents in exchange for their support and said the meetings he would be having with them would not be “transactional”.

The Coalition’s on-paper majority has been bolstered during its time in power by votes from a group of Independent TDs during confidence votes in the Government and ministers.

Cormac McQuinn

Cormac McQuinn

Cormac McQuinn is a Political Correspondent at The Irish Times

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