Dublin - The Irish government coalition faced a parliamentary vote of no confidence Tuesday, after its abysmal performance in the European and local elections.

The two-day debate will be an opportunity for the Fine Gael opposition to repeat its calls for a general election.

"We've had a party in government for the last 12 years who have presided over a particular economic philosophy which has led us here and we need change," opposition Fine Gael leader Enda Kelly told The Irish Times newspaper.

Two new members of parliament, one opposition Fine Gael and the other an independent, returned in two by-elections run at the same time as the European and local elections have reduced the government's majority to three.

Leaders of the governing Fianna Fail party, whose vote was at an historic low of 25 per cent after the European, local elections and two bye-elections, hadn't anticipated a general election before 2012.

The party suffered a humiliating defeat in Dublin as it lost its European Parliament seat in the capital to the Socialist party's Joe Higgins Monday.

Higgins, who campaigned against the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, pledged to champion the interests of working people as "the creators of wealth" in Europe. He warned that it was "bad for the establishment that I am going to Europe."

With the three seats filled in the North West constituency in which Eurosceptic Libertas leader Declan Ganley was defeated, Ganley has said he would "bow out of political life."

Ganley told Irish national broadcaster RTE that he accepted that people had not given him a mandate to represent them in the European Parliament.

Ganley also said he would play no part in the second Lisbon referendum, saying it remained to be seen whether Libertas as an organization would be involved, RTE reported.

Despite Ganley's defeat, questions are being raised about the ability of the current government, which is a Fianna Fail-Green Party coalition, to carry the new referendum on the Lisbon treaty scheduled for autumn.

With all 12 European Parliament seats filled, Opposition Fine Gael have four seats in Europe, Labour has three, Fianna Fail have three and Independent candidates have two seats.

All of the MEPS apart from the Socialists are considered to be pro-Lisbon.

Overall, the result of the European, local and Dublin by-elections to the Irish parliament was a disaster for the ruling Fianna Fail-Green Party coalition with the Greens losing all 10 of their Dublin councillors.

Fine Gael with 32.3 per cent of the first preference votes, is now the number-one party in the state for the first time since the 1920s. (dpa)