Mattie McGrath blasts government and opposition including a fellow Tipperary TD

Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath may have voted against the Government in this morning's no-confidence motion but was not taking sides in the Dail.

During the pre-vote debate, Deputy McGrath called the opposition parties 'fake and 'phoney' and the Government "Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

He dismissed Dáil discussions in recent months as "theatre and semantics".

"The men of 1916 must be truly turning in their graves to see what's going on," said Mr McGrath.

To which Labour's Aodhán Ó Ríordáin replied:

"For the love of God."

He went on to accuse the Government of taking from Irish people to give to foreign nationals and the Labour Party of only representing the wealthy.

He attacked Labour's record on housing, saying of fellow Tipperary TD Alan Kelly:

"When Deputy Kelly was Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government some years ago, he did not build hen houses, not to mind houses for people. It was all blunder and bluff."

He said the country needed a change of government.

"It is time that we got rid of this greedy grip that is on power, that the Government wants to hold onto. It is the same with the officials, the permanent government.

"They should serve the people who elected us to serve, not self-serving themselves and staying in power at all costs. We are waiting then for our people to come in here to take over".

For Tipperary, Mr McGrath voted no confidence in the Government. As did Sinn Féin's Martin Browne and Labour's Alan Kelly.

Fianna Fáil's Jackie Cahill and Independent TD Michael Lowry voted for confidence in the Government.

The Government comfortably survived the latest no-confidence motion 86-67.