Mary Lou McDonald: Sinn Féin tabling no-confidence motion in Coveney because Taoiseach failed to do his job

"This is a mess of their making, not mine."

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her party is tabling a no-confidence motion in Simon Coveney because Taoiseach Micheál Martin failed to do his job in sanctioning the minister. The Dáil returns tomorrow (Wednesday, 15 September) after the summer break where Sinn Féin will move the motion following the recent controversy surrounding the special envoy role offered to Katherine Zappone. While the Taoiseach has said the approach and process surrounding the selection of the envoy role was wrong, he has also stated that he has confidence in Coveney. Last week, McDonald had called on Martin to sanction the minister, stating: "In the event that he is not prepared to act, well then Sinn Féin will." Speaking before Sinn Féin met for its think-in on Tuesday, McDonald said that the party will now table the motion because the Taoiseach did not do his job by not sanctioning Coveney. The party leader was asked on Morning Ireland if she really wanted to bring down a minister over the appointment of an envoy which did not go ahead. In response, she said: "The issue here is around the entire culture of Irish politics now for a century as exemplified by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. "They believe that they're entitled to create a post, a position for one of their friends, a former colleague. They got caught. They sought to cover up their tracks. This thing has rumbled on and on. This is a mess of their making, not mine." She said Sinn Féin was not prepared "to look the other way and tolerate that kind of crony politics". "I don't believe that there is a public appetite for that... On the contrary, there's a huge appetite for change and for definitive evidence that that type of politics is a thing of the past," she added.