There were sharp exchanges in the Dáil this afternoon on the proposal by Green Party leader John Gormley for an all-party consensus on the economy.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said he was confused by Mr Gormley's observation that the purpose of all-party meetings would be to seek a political consensus on the Budget and the four-year economic plan.
Mr Gilmore said his understanding of consensus was that all parties could exercise a veto. He asked if it would be the case that nothing was agreed until everything was agreed.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen said he had no objection to a meeting being held to confirm the basis of a briefing supplied by the Department of Finance and if it was possible to have talks beyond that.
He said Labour's stated position on issues suggested it would be very difficult to see how adjustments could be made without having such matters, precluded by the party, on the table.
Mr Gilmore said he would ignore Mr Cowen's "temptation to resort to partisan type''. Denied he was being partisan, Mr Cowen said he was referring to Mr Gilmore's views on the economy, expressed in an article
in the Evening Herald yesterday.
The Green Party's attempt to seek all-party consensus on the four-year austerity plan appeares to be on the verge of failure as Opposition parties portrayed the initiative as "unhelpful" and as "not serious".
Fine Gael and Labour were last night highly critical that neither had received a promised letter by close of business from Green Party leader John Gormley. He had undertaken to write to all Dáil parties setting out his proposal for a unified approach to the four-year plan.
The letter was e-mailed to the leaders of Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin at about 7pm.
The one-page letter suggests a three-step engagement. The first is the existing common view shared by the main parties that the national deficit has to be reduced to 3 per cent by 2014. The second is the decision by Government to allow the Opposition to have full sight of the national finances and to get comprehensive briefing from senior officials in the Department of Finance, a process that is ongoing this week. The third step is the invitation for an all-party meeting "without preconditions".
Mr Gormley said the initiative had come from the Green Party alone but insisted it had the backing of its Coalition partner.