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KERRY TD MICHAEL Healy-Rae announced in the Dáil this afternoon that he will be tendering his resignation as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and voting no confidence in the government today.
Healy-Rae made the shock announcement while speaking during the Dáil debate in the aftermath of the fuel protests which took place last week.
“Because of the fact that I believe this government have let the people of Ireland down, I will be voting no confidence in the leader of the country, and I will be tendering my resignation as a Minister of State from now,” he said.
The TD said he has always viewed himself as a “gauge of the people of rural Ireland”.
“When I see people begging on the side of the road, when I’ve seen grown men crying. Last night when I met tractor men, lorry men, farmers, and when they were telling me how unhappy they were, the leader of the country should have listened.”
He said there are farmers and agricultural workers “really suffering”.
“Now the people of Kerry are telling me that they are unhappy with this government, they don’t want to see me, or any Healy-Rae supporting it.”
“The government and the leader have not listened. It’s a lesson for people in the future.”
In a post on Instagram announcing the move, Healy-Rae said: “I am a servant of the people, for the people and by the people.”
“Today I stood with the hard working, plain ordinary people of Kerry and Ireland.”
Healy-Rae waved to cheering crowds gathered outside of Leinster House after resigning.
Speaking to reporters outside, he said: “Farmers, contractors, housewives, moms and dads – these people are saying the government have lost their way, and I’m really sorry about that.”
“I know I entered an agreement. It was an agreement of trust. I’m not breaking that, I’m not leaving the government down, the leader has let the people down.”
Healy-Rae said the government has shown a lack of “compassion” for those protesting.
He said he has to be true to himself, his family, his supporters, his canvassers, and the people of Kerry.
“I did my best for the people of Kerry,” he added.
Michael Healy Rae on his decision to resign today as a minister of state and vote no confidence in this government over its handling of the fuel protests.
— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) April 14, 2026
He says the government has shown a lack of “compassion” for those protesting. pic.twitter.com/ESrv2MX4yl
A few hundred people are taking part in a protest in front of the Dáil.
The crowd of demonstrators has gathered behind metal barriers on Molesworth Street. Several people at the front of the crowd are brandishing Irish flags, a handful of anti-EU posters, and loudspeakers.
The crowd chanted a number of slogans calling for a change in government and criticising the government’s fuel prices package – “Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, OUT OUT OUT” and “you can stick your f***ing ten cents up your arse”.
Independent Ireland’s Michael Collins left Leinster House for a time to speak to the crowd, where he was hailed by several protesters. During his time at the edge of the protest, some in the crowd asked him how government-supporting independent TDs would vote.
Speaking to The Journal outside Leinster House, Collins said that he does not expect any of the independent TDs to be swayed, but he added that “a lot can happen in the next hour”.
Other TDs who spoke to the protesters included fellow Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, and Michael Healy Rae shortly after he announced his resignation as minister.
There’s still a significant garda presence in the area and the streets around the Dáil, including Kildare Street, are closed off to traffic. A number of garda public order units are parked at the end of the road in case things kick off.
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