MINISTER FOR CLIMATE Eamon Ryan will now remain at COP28 in Dubai after initially making plans to fly home to Dublin in the middle of the conference to boost the government’s numbers for a confidence motion.

Opposition parties have called a vote of no confidence in Minister for Justice Helen McEntee in the wake of the night of rioting in Dublin, saying she has failed to protect public safety in the capital.

The vote coincides with Minister Ryan’s stint at COP28, a major international conference where countries engage in difficult negotiations to try to stop the climate crisis, where he was scheduled to be from 2 to 14 December.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told reporters at COP28 earlier this week that the minister would need to return home for the confidence motion, saying there were no ‘pairings’ for such votes — a practice in which a TD on one side of an issue agrees not to vote in cases where a TD on the other side is unable to attend, in order to balance out the numbers.

Minister Ryan said yesterday that he would be flying home and the back out to COP, expressing regret that he would miss two days of work at the conference.

The decision prompted criticism over the additional airfare trip given his position as Ireland’s climate minister at a climate conference.

However, the minister has now confirmed to reporters at COP28 that a pairing arrangement has been made, meaning he will remain in Dubai for the duration of the conference.

“I’ve been offered a pair in the vote in the Dáil, so I will be staying here for the next few days,” he said.

“Jennifer Whitmore from the Social Democrats offered me a pair last night. I consulted with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste and they both agree it makes sense to stay here.

“The Dáil still has primacy but a pairing arrangement allows your vote not to be marked out, as it were.”

A follow on statement from his spokesperson confirmed that the Taoiseach and Tánaiste agreed to the arrangement on this occasion as “as an exception” to the normal pairing arrangements for such motions.

When a TD has taken any leave of absence and is therefore not present to vote, they can enter an informal pairing arrangement with a TD from an opposing party who agrees not to vote and so balances out their absence.

However, as a general rule, this arrangement does not extend to confidence votes as they are seen as critical to the functioning of government.

Pairing arrangements are usually only offered if a TD is ill, though the spotlight was shone on the mechanism earlier this year when Justice Minister Helen McEntee was on maternity leave and also required a pairing arrangement. 

The debate on the confidence motion will take place at 3.50pm tomorrow, with a vote due to take place around 6.30pm. 

With reporting by Christina Finn