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EVERY WEEKEND, OUR political team casts an eye over the events inside and outside Leinster House that have people talking.
It was a busy week as TDs returned from their Easter holidays following days of blockades and major protests by fuel protesters.
The government went on to survive a confidence vote but lose a junior minister before the inevitable rumblings of yet another heave against Micheál Martin.
Here are our political winners and losers of the last week.
1. Independent Ireland
The Independent Ireland men are on a high walking around the corridors of Leinster House this week, buoyed by the success of the fuel protests.
On Tuesday, the day of the vote on the government’s fuel support package, the opposition TDs were given a hero’s welcome when they spoke to protesters outside the Dáil.
Michael Collins TD (pictured) shook hands with leaders of the fuel protesters, while TD Richard O’Donoghue said he is “broken” after the events of last week.
He recounted how he “couldn’t stop the tears” when he stood side-by-side with the protesters last week while they sang the song “Sean South from Garryowen”.
He also strongly criticised Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan for his threat to seek a review of media coverage of the protests.
“I thank the media, even though the ministers inside at the moment are giving out, but you followed both sides of the story,” O’Donoghue said.
However, they rounded off the week on a bad note with Independent Ireland being forced to reject accusations that its TDs “repeatedly shouted over” female members of the government after a complaint was sent to the Ceann Comhairle.
2. Catherine Connolly
Getting her feet wet in the new gig, Ireland’s President Catherine Connolly has decided to convene her first meeting of the Council of State to discuss the constitutionality of the International Protection Bill 2026.
Interestingly, former president Michael D Higgins also convened the council for the first International Protection Bill back in 2015.
Connolly will take the advice of her council, and will decide herself whether to refer the legislation to the Supreme Court.
It’s one of the president’s real powers in the role, so no harm in her flexing her presidential muscles early on.
She’ll also be making her first official foreign visit as president and there’s no surprise that the trip is to Barcelona on the back of an invitation of Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, who would align a lot with Connolly’s political viewpoints.
3. Danny Healy Rae
There’s nothing like the gossip that flies around the halls of Leinster House when a no confidence motion is tabled. This time was no different.
All eyes were on the independents who signed up to support the government. There was a focus on Danny Healy-Rae and whether he could bring himself to cast a vote to back the coalition.
The two-for-one deal agreed with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the wake of the last election meant that Michael Healy-Rae got a ministerial job, while his brother Danny would get some wins for Kerry as long as he backed the government as well.
There was wiggle room in that duo package, where Danny could possibly be allowed to stray on some issues, but those in government said it couldn’t be countenanced that he would leave the government hanging when it came to a confidence vote.
It has long been said that Danny was not comfortable in the arrangement but signed up to it in the hope that having a Healy-Rae in government would mean big wins for the people back in the constituency.
In the end, given the level of anger in rural Ireland, the price was too high.
While he claims he never forced his brother’s hand, the fact that Michael fell on his sword, walking away from his ministerial job, means Danny is free to start enjoying the opposition benches again – a place where both Healy Raes appear to be a lot more comfortable.
1. Simon Harris and Micheál Martin
They lost the backing of two TDs and shed a junior minister, so it’s fair to say the two coalition leaders didn’t have their best week.
Add in failing to get a handle on the fuel protest situation before forecourts ran dry … need we say more?
The two leaders have to acknowledge that both are damaged from the last two weeks.
Around the halls of Leinster House, backbench TDs from both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have spoken about how some long-standing supporters of theirs have warned they might not get a vote in the next election.
Throw in talk of a potential heave against the Fianna Fáil leader, and Martin fares a bit worse off than Simon Harris this week.
While Martin was off in Berlin meeting the German chancellor, Fianna Fáil tongues were wagging about what the future might hold for the party leader.
But he isn’t called the Teflon Taoiseach for nothing.
His camp were hitting the phones and shoring up support for Martin towards the end of the week, with senior ministers wheeled out to assert ‘nothing to see here’.
The death knell in the chatter came when the three possible successors to Martin said they still back the Taoiseach.
Both leaders will be hoping for some quieter weeks ahead.
2. Jim O’Callaghan
The Justice Minister made some truly woeful communication errors over the course of the fuel protests.
Confusion ensued during the fuel protests when he issued a statement that was less than clear, but mentioned that the Defence Forces were being called upon to assist in removing vehicles involved in the protest.
“Send in the army”? Is it any wonder the opposition have dubbed him Rambo for his heavy-handed approach.
Backbench TDs within his party questioned the minister at their Monday parliamentary party meeting about what he was thinking putting out a statement like that.
He was forced to explain himself, telling his Fianna Fáil colleagues that all he ever meant was that army equipment was to be used to help remove trucks, telling his party that he never meant boots on the ground.
Since taking on his ministry, O’Callaghan has been touted as the great communicator, lauded for his straight-talking approach.
However, this misstep meant that even when there was talk of a possible heave against the Taoiseach, no one could say it was good timing for O’Callaghan to make any move.
He’ll have to wait a bit longer for this whole debacle to be in the rearview mirror if he ever plans to make manoeuvres against Martin.
3. Patrick O’Donovan
And while we’re on poor communication decisions…
The Media Minister’s decision to go on the airways and call for a review of media coverage of the fuel protests may just be one of the worst communication mistakes of the last few years.
His party leader Simon Harris didn’t back him up and after huge criticism, the minister quietly decided to drop his plan.
Hopefully the minister will have learned this week that sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all.
4. The young guns of Fianna Fáil
Joint statement on behalf of Albert Dolan TD, Ryan O’Meara TD and James O’Connor TD. @albertdolan_ @ryanomeara_td pic.twitter.com/f7pcycBJGf
— James O'Connor TD (@JamesOConnorTD) April 15, 2026
“The folly of youth” is how some within Fianna Fáil described the strike from the young gun TDs in the Dáil this week.
TDs James O’Connor, Albert Dolan and Ryan O’Meara issued a statement questioning the direction of the Fianna Fáil party, and without naming names, everyone knew that the blame was being put at the feet of Micheál Martin.
The TDs noted in their letter that they were the youngest TDs in the party and stated that they will no longer take on a role where “senior colleagues expect us to just explain their government difficulties to our communities”.
Unfortunately, many argued that that is exactly the job of a backbench TD. As one source said this week, when it comes to being a backbench TD “sometimes you have to eat a sh*t sandwich”.
5. Michael Healy Rae
While Danny Healy Rae gets to once again sit comfortably on the opposition benches, Michael might not be so happy to be there.
He had his shot in the big government job as Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture and what this controversy shows is he couldn’t hack it.
“He’s never going to get that opportunity again, he’s done,” said one TD this week.
Many people think Michael was looking at the bigger picture and stepping away from government was something he had to do to protect the future of the Healy-Rae dynasty and the relatives coming up behind him.
While he came out with his fist raised as if in deviance of the government was once part of, he must be pretty sore this weekend that he had his shot in the big boy job and he couldn’t last that long in it.
Aside from the winners and losers of the week, before we sign off there’s just time for an honourable mention of some of the insults turfed out this week – from ‘G.I Jim’ to ‘Timmy Doolittle’, there was quite a bit of name-calling during Tuesday’s confidence debate.
But there was a mic drop moment in the Dáil when Labour leader Ivana Bacik, speaking about Minister O’Donovan’s attack on the media, quipped:
“Goodbye Victor Orban, hello Patrick O’Donovan.”
A nod to giddiness in the Dáil this week also, when Independent TD Paul Gogarty, ahead of the debate, used his crutch as a mock rifle – appearing to joke about the carnage that was about to ensue.
The Dáil is sometimes a mad place, what can we say.
What did you make of the week in politics and who were your winners and losers this week? Tell us in the comments.
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