Verona Murphy set for Ceann Comhairle role as Fianna Fáil agree to back her bid
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Fianna Fáil TDs are set to back Verona Murphy to be the next Ceann Comhairle, clearing the way for the independent TD to be voted into the role on Wednesday.
At a Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting, TDs gave their approval to a proposal by party leader Micheál Martin to throw their support behind Ms Murphy.
Ms Murphy appears to have garnered the backing of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, with the former due to hold their parliamentary party meeting this evening.
One senior Fine Gael source said there will be “very few rebels” against voting for Ms Murphy in a secret ballot.
With Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil on a combined 76 seats, alongside the nine within the Regional Independent Group, it is enough for Ms Murphy to be elected as Ceann Comhairle on the first count.
It is expected that Ms Murphy could exceed 90 votes.
If elected on Wednesday, Ms Murphy would become the first female Ceann Comhairle in the history of the State.
Sources within Fianna Fáil have said that there is some disappointment that they will not hold the Ceann Comhairle’s office within the 34th Dáil, but that there is an amount of pragmatism to ensure government formation talks are not destabilised.
One TD said that there was broad agreement within the parliamentary party on the matter, while another said there is “unity of purpose” within the party.
Despite this, Fianna Fáil’s John McGuinness is expected to remain in the race, while Cork North West TD Michael Moynihan will not stand.
One party source said that while it was a secret ballot, they questioned why TDs would opt to vote against Ms Murphy and potentially destabilise a government before it is formed.
“Why would you cut off your nose to spite your face?” the TD said.