Latest news with #GillianToole
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Shane Ross: When it comes to Gaza, perhaps our politicians are human after all
Independents Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole defied the Government in Israeli war bonds vote and showed they are human Yesterday at 21:30 Opinionated columnists should do regular audits of their prejudices. Last week, I was forced to admit that just because Mary Lou McDonald champions a cause, it is not automatically wrong. Over the years, the Sinn Féin leader has blazed a trail in support of the people of Palestine, long before it became politically mainstream. Remember, she has endorsed a different, despicably violent movement closer to home, but on Palestine she has been consistent for decades.
BreakingNews.ie
29-05-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Two Regional Independent TDs vote against Government on Sinn Féin bill
Two TDs who are part of the Coalition-supporting Regional Independent Group voted against the Government on Wednesday night on Sinn Féin's Israeli bonds bill. Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole voted with the Opposition despite previously saying they would support the Government on motions similar to this. Advertisement Up until now, the pair have voted with the Coalition. TDs voted 87-75 against a motion brought by Sinn Féin to force the Irish Central Bank to end its role in facilitating the 'Israeli war bonds' in the EU. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has previously said the Sinn Féin motion was unworkable and inconsistent with EU law. Members of the Opposition held up signs saying "stop funding genocide" as they failed in the Dáil vote. Advertisement In a statement, Mr Heneghan said he voted in favour of the Sinn Féin motion 'because Ireland shouldn't facilitate the sale of bonds that help fund the devastation in Gaza'. 'I'm voting for the bill because Ireland shouldn't facilitate the sale of bonds that help fund the devastation in Gaza,' he added. 'This is about standing up for international law and basic human rights.' Mr Heneghan said he was 'fully committed' to the Programme for Government, adding 'as an Independent TD, I reserve the right to act on matters of conscience'. 'The situation is urgent, and Ireland must show leadership,' he said. Mr Heneghan and Ms O'Toole are part of the Regional Independent Group of TDs, which is informally led by Michael Lowry, whose role in government formation talks was controversial. Speaking rights on opposition time for the group led to huge confrontation in the Dáil, delaying the nomination of Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the formation of Dáil committees.
RTÉ News
29-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Two TDs reiterate support for Govt after backing SF bill
The two Independent TDs who voted against the Government in the Dáil last night have insisted that they will continue to support the Coalition in the time ahead. Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole backed a Sinn Féin bill that would have prevented the Irish Central Bank from approving the prospectus which allows Israel to sell bonds in the European Union. The Government won the vote by a margin of 87 votes to 75. But two Independent TDs, who backed the Governenment in every other vote in the 34th Dáil and who were part of the government formation talks, sided with the Opposition last night. Mr Heneghan said it was a matter of conscience and Ireland should not facilitate the sale of bonds that help fund the devastation in Gaza. Meath East TD Gillian Toole cited the lack of a detailed briefing from the Government on the impact the Sinn Féin bill would have on EU Law. The Government stated the bill was unworkable and not in compliance with EU law. Mr Heneghan and Ms Toole have said they will continue to support the Coalition overall in the time ahead. However, their vote illustrates that the Government is coming under increasing pressure to take furher action against Israel. The Taoiseach told the Dáil yesterday that the most effective response to what is happening in Gaza is to persuade people in the EU and the US to pull their support from the state of Israel because of its actions.
Irish Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Independents Barry Heneghan, Gillian Toole vote against Coalition and in favour of Sinn Féin's pro-Palestine Bill
Independent TDs Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole, who support the Government, have voted against the Coalition in favour of a Sinn Féin Bill in support of Palestine. The Dáil voted by a margin of 87 to 75 against the Opposition party's Bill that sought to curtail Israeli access to sell bonds through the Irish financial system The Central Bank of Ireland has a role in approving documents on bonds issued by the Israeli government, which have been described as 'war bonds' by the Opposition. The Bill would have prevented the Irish Central Bank from approving the prospectus that allows Israel to trade its bonds in the European Union. Despite the Bill being defeated, the result prompted a protest in the Dáil with the Opposition standing up and holding up small banners declaring: 'Stop financing genocide' when the Ceann Comhairle announced the vote. READ MORE Most Social Democrats TDs held up the banners; deputies Sinead Gibney and Jen Cummins remained seated. In a statement issued after a vote, Mr Heneghan said he supported the legislation 'because Ireland shouldn't facilitate the sale of bonds that help fund the devastation in Gaza'. 'I'm voting for the bill because Ireland shouldn't facilitate the sale of bonds that help fund the devastation in Gaza,' he said. 'This is about standing up for international law and basic human rights.' Mr Heneghan said he was 'fully committed' to the Programme for Government, but he added that 'as an Independent TD, I reserve the right to act on matters of conscience'. 'The situation is urgent, and Ireland must show leadership,' he said. Ms Toole said afterwards that there had been 'no detailed briefing' from Government about the impact on EU legislation. Mr Heneghan and Ms O'Toole were part of the Regional Independent Group of TDs which convened around Tipperary North TD Michael Lowry during Programme for Government negotiations. After the negotiations were concluded, Mr Lowry said the group would support the Government 'on good days and bad'. However, the allocation of speaking rights for the group became a major flashpoint in the early days of this Dáil, sparking a bitter row that led to disruptions in the Dáil and the abandonment of the first effort to elect Micheál Martin as Taoiseach. During the negotiations that followed, Mr Heneghan, Ms O'Toole and Danny Healy-Rae wrote to the Ceann Comhairle indicating that their support for the Government was on a 'case-by-case basis'. This led to anger among senior Coalition figures who believed the intervention meant the Government's effective majority in the Dáil had been reduced. While Mr Heneghan said that he remained committed to the Programme for Government, his siding with the opposition is a new departure. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said the legislation was unworkable and inconsistent with EU law. There were clashes in the Dáil on Wednesday between Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald. She said it was 'bogus' for the Taoiseach to say he was advised the Bill might be inconsistent with EU law. 'We have over 20 pages of independent, robust legal opinion clearly stating that the Bill is compliant with Irish law, European law and international law,' she said. Under the advice, a member State can under EU law unilaterally restrict access to its financial services, under an obligation to comply with international law and ensure compliance of the law by third states such as Israel. However, there was no certainty that EU infringement proceedings would not be taken. The Taoiseach said there was a pattern from Sinn Féin 'to try and drive a wedge' between the Government and the people of Ireland 'in respect of what Israel is doing'. He accused her of 'bandying words around like 'facilitating', 'complicit' and 'genocide', which are false.' He said it was a 'false narrative'. He insisted the 'Central Bank does not approve and does not issue or sell or oversee the sale of Israeli bonds'. Social Democrats' acting leader Cian O'Callaghan said the bonds were 'explicitly advertised as being crucial to the war effort. 'Israel is running marketing campaigns imploring people to buy these bonds so they can stand with Israel,' he said. Mr Martin said the Central Bank of Ireland is part of the European Central Bank and that it was a constituent member of the ECB. 'It does not act unilaterally on fundamental matters in terms of this,' he said.
RTÉ News
28-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Blow for Government as two TDs back Sinn Féin Israeli bonds bill
The Government suffered a blow tonight as two of the TDs that have supported it in every vote up to this point backed Sinn Féin's bill to prevent the Central Bank from having any role in the sale of Israel's bonds. It illustrates the depth of feeling over Israel's actions in Gaza which were described by Taoiseach Micheál Martin as genocide. That is the widespread view in the Dáil, and it has put the Government under severe pressure to take further action. So much so that two of the TDs it held detailed discussions with when drawing up the Programme for Government sided with the Opposition. The Central Bank's role in all of this may be just a technical approval of the prospectus that allows Israel to sell war bonds in the EU. But the Opposition's view was clear. They said that this State should have no role whatsoever in facilitating Israel to sell bonds which it has publicly stated are used to fund its war in Gaza. The explanation around why the Sinn Féin bill was rejected was vague with Government repeatedly saying it was unworkable and at odds with EU law. Indeed, it was the lack of a detailed briefing on that question which Independent Gillian Toole cited as the reason she backed the Sinn Féin bill. For Independent Barry Heneghan it was an urgent matter of conscience and he wanted Ireland to show leadership. There is an effort by Government to say this does not really matter because the whip does not strictly apply to these TDs. One summation of the evening's events suggested the TDs were simply flexing their muscles. Furthermore, the Coalition's majority is not in jeopardy. It still has a nailed 91 votes in a chamber of 174 TDs. However, it was not so long ago that the Dáil has in turmoil over the speaking rights for a small number of Independent TDs, which included Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole. A mammoth political effort and a bitter row was required to solidify those rights for the group the Ceann Comhairle ruled was not part of the Opposition. To have two of those TDs essentially go overboard, albeit temporarily, just a few months later is unquestionably damaging for the Government.
