Over a glass of beer, they convinced the minister to resign and join the opposition.
Secretary of State for Agriculture Michael Healy-Rae's surprise announcement came during a debate on a vote of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Micheál Martin, whose one-year-old center-right administration relies on the support of rural independent MPs like Healy-Rae.
Although the government survived the vote by a margin of 92 to 78, Healy-Rae's move to the opposition benches – where his older brother Danny already sits – was the first real blow to the stability of government in Dáil Éireann, the Irish parliament.
Rising from the government benches, Healy-Rae said he had spent Monday evening talking to angry voters in a pub in his County Kerry constituency – and it was these conversations that had convinced him to abandon his support for Martin.
— I met tractor drivers, truck drivers and farmers who told me how dissatisfied they were. The Prime Minister should have listened to them, Healy-Rae told the silent room. “Because I believe this government has failed the people of Ireland, I will be voting no confidence in the leader of the government and, from now on, I am resigning as Secretary of State,” he said.
Healy-Rae accused the government of lacking compassion for farmers and truck drivers struggling with skyrocketing diesel prices. — People cried during the protests, and they were employees! They were decent people! he shouted.
Healy-Rae – always wearing the distinctive Irish baseball cap – is the scion of one of Ireland's most colorful political families.
