Micheal Martin nominated as next taoiseach
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Micheal Martin has received the backing of the Irish parliament to be nominated as the country’s next premier. Parliamentarians voted 95 to 76 in support of the nomination of the Fianna Fail leader, the day after a chaotic row disrupted the process and resulted in the suspension of the Dail.
Mr Martin will formally become Ireland’s taoiseach during a ceremony with President Michael D Higgins at his official residence at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin. Mr Higgins will sign the warrant of appointment and hand Mr Martin the Seal of the Taoiseach.
The nomination was originally supposed to have taken place on Wednesday, but a dispute over speaking rights for independents affiliated with the incoming coalition led to the Dail being adjourned. Mr Martin’s Fianna Fail emerged as the largest party after the Irish general election at the end of November.
It agreed to re-enter a coalition with Fine Gael, led by outgoing Taoiseach Simon Harris. The two parties combined were just short of a majority in the Dail and will be supported by several independent TDs (MPs) for the five-year government term after lengthy negotiations.
Efforts to nominate Mr Martin on Wednesday had to be abandoned over a disagreement on whether Government-affiliated TDs could be allocated opposition speaking time. The Dail reconvened at 11.40am on Thursday to proceed with the nomination of a taoiseach after extensive negotiations resulted in agreement that parliamentary rules needed to be reviewed.
