Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

No, the Labour Party will not agree the Order of Business today. The Taoiseach told us earlier today and yesterday that the Government does not intend to provide time to debate the Labour Party's motion of no confidence in the Government. That is the first time Government has refused to provide Government time to debate a motion of no confidence. That, of course, is the Government's decision, and, if it is, we will deal with it next week in Labour Party Private Members' time.

I do not believe there is a self-respecting Parliament anywhere that would not put to the test continued confidence in a Government in the circumstances we now have, where clearly a large number of people, even on the Government side, do not have confidence in the Taoiseach, where a senior Minister has just announced his resignation, which has been informed to us, in circumstances where Government backbenchers are raising questions about what other Ministers may have said or not said to them about confidence in the leader of the Government-----

See this speech in context