Irish parliamentary speaker defeats no confidence motion

The speaker of the lower house of Ireland's parliament defeated a no confidence motion laid down by the main opposition parties as expected on Tuesday after maintaining the support of the coalition government.

Verona Murphy, an independent lawmaker whose elevation to the post after a November general election was backed by the ruling Fine Gael and Fianna Fail and their independent allies, rejected calls to quit last week over a dispute about speaking rights that has impacted the workings of parliament.

Opposition parties have protested against a new rule that government-supporting independents retain extended speaking rights previously afforded to them in opposition, interrupting sittings and delaying the appointment of all committees.

The opposition accused Murphy of bypassing parliamentary rules last week by hastening a vote on the government's speaking proposals. She categorically rejected the allegations.

Lawmakers voted confidence in Murphy - the first time a speaker in the parliament has faced such a motion - by 96 to 71.

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