***Fuel protests in Ireland caused major disruption last week, with blockades at depots and motorways amid rising tensions over fuel prices/AI ILLUSTRATION***

The Dáil (Irish parliament) is expected to vote that it has confidence in the Irish government on Tuesday.

A motion of no confidence was tabled over the Irish government's handling of the fuel protests last week which saw blockades at fuel depots and motorways around the country and caused widespread traffic disruption.

Junior minister set to resign

It is expected the Dáil will see a majority of TDs vote with the confidence motion, meaning that it has confidence in the government.

However, Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae told the Dáil he would be voting against the confidence motion.

He will resign from his position as junior minister in the Department of Agriculture.

The Kerry TD's brother, Danny Healy-Rae, was suspected earlier in the day of voting against the government.

The two Kerry TDs were part of an independent group of TDs who supported the government.

TDs from government and opposition parties fired blows across the Dáil chamber while the confidence motion was being debated on Tuesday.

During the debate, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the Dáil that since 2022, government measures have "shielded consumers" from the highest fuel prices.

He hit out at "false claims" by the opposition, including Sinn Féin's assertion that Ireland is the "biggest profiteer" from higher fuel prices, saying it is "flat out untrue".

He said the government was "already spending dramatically more on measures to help people with fuel costs than it is receiving in extra taxes".

Martin said the blockades at fuel depots and at an oil refinery last week were "destructive".

"Nobody has the right to appoint themselves as the voice of the people," he said.

He condemned the "targeting" of gardaí (Irish police) and lorry drivers as well as threats to politicians.

"We should all be concerned with the attempts to import extreme ideologies here."

Tanaiste (deputy prime minister) Simon Harris said other governments and other executives - such as the one in Northern Ireland - have not responded to economic shocks like the Irish government has.

"We entered 2026 from relative economic strength. We expect the Irish economy to grow, albeit at a slower pace than before expected."

He also hit out at the opposition, particularly Sinn Féin, who heckled him from the opposition benches.

He said "nobody in this Republic" gets the right to restrict the movement "of anybody else".

The Sinn Féin leader, who is the leader of the opposition in the Dáil, Mary Lou McDonald, called for a general election, saying it was the government's "time to go".

McDonald said the government "refused and refuses to listen" and had acted to "inflame an already desperate situation".

"Your time is up. All of this didn't start last week. The seeds were sown in your Budget last October,' she said.

She criticised the Dáil not sitting for 20 days during the Easter break, saying the taoiseach is "completely out of touch".

She said people everywhere were calling for "real action" and "real leadership".

The party's finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said there had been "no real leadership" from the government on fuel costs.

He said the Irish government's "instinct" was not to help struggling people who decided to protest last week but to "threaten them".