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The liberal Irish government will face a vote of no-confidence amid the spiralling fuel crisis and the widespread farmer-trucker protests.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in, the largest opposition party in Ireland, announced on Sunday that it will table a vote of no confidence in the\u00a0Fianna F\u00e1il-Fine Gael coalition government when the D\u00e1il parliament returns to session.<\/p>\n \u201cThe actions of Fianna F\u00e1il, Fine Gael and Independents have been disastrous. They have lost the confidence of the public. It is clear that they still are not listening and do not accept the scale of this fuel and cost of living crisis,\u201d the left-wing party said in a statement<\/a> per the Irish Times.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAll reports indicate it will be more of the same half measures from them this evening. This is unacceptable. We need the maximum reductions now, as proposed by Sinn F\u00e9in weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n While the government has introduced some temporary measures, around half of Irish consumers\u2019 fuel costs go into the state coffers. Amid the burgeoning energy crisis across Europe, the refusal to make deeper tax cuts sparked nationwide protests by farmers and truckers, many of whom have taken to blocking petrol stations and refineries.<\/p>\n It is estimated that by Sunday, around two-thirds of the country\u2019s petrol stations will have run out of petrol. Despite the widespread disruptions, the public appears to be broadly in favour of the protests, with a survey<\/a> for the Irish Independent<\/em> finding that 56 per cent supported the actions of the protesters, compared to 38 per cent who disapproved.<\/p>\n The poll found that 46 per cent of the public blamed the government, while 28 per cent pointed to the war in Iran, and 26 per cent said that the protesters were to blame.<\/p>\n