THE GREEN Party leader John Gormley has said he is seeking a “meeting without precondition” involving all Dáil parties to see if consensus can be reached on a national four-year recovery plan.
The Minister for the Environment insisted that the Green Party initiative to write to all Opposition leaders had the backing of the Government and Taoiseach Brian Cowen.
The Green Party said the text of the letter had been seen by Mr Cowen before it was sent out. The letter was e-mailed to the leaders of Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin at 7pm last night.
Mr Gormley, speaking outside Leinster House yesterday, said that the letter had set out three chronological steps.
The first was that there was already general agreement among the parties (with the exception of Sinn Féin) that the government debt be reduced to 3 per cent by 2014.
He said that the second was the fact that the Department of Finance was opening its books this week for scrutiny and was willing to be involved in a full exchange of information.
He said the third step was a “meeting without precondition which would mean that there is an exchange of analysis so that we could look then to see if consensus was possible”. Asked was the letter a Government initiative or a Green Party initiative, he said the idea had come from the Greens but had the backing of Government.
He said the Greens had experience in consensus politics and that approach was “appropriate” at this stage because of the acute nature of the problem facing the country.
Mr Gormley rejected the suggestion that the Taoiseach had been “lukewarm” to the proposal but accepted there was scepticism and reticence among all political parties.
“I can fully understand that there is a reticence there, that there would be a great deal of scepticism and in some cases a fear around this.
“I am asking people to put those doubts aside in the national interest to get consensus around an issue that is of vital national interest,” he said.
He contended that an early election would not solve the problem but repeat it and lead to further destabilisation.
He also denied that Fianna Fáil were against the idea.
“If you listen to what a number of Fianna Fáil people have said, they see this as a real opportunity for this country to make an advance,” he said.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said that he welcomed the idea of consensus politics to address the financial deficit but ruled out any suggestion of a three-party “national government” comprised of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour.
Speaking in Belfast, Mr Martin said he welcomed consensus politics and an honest appraisal of how to achieve the 3 per cent budget deficit target by 2014 but that the Government “obviously have to come forward with proposals as well – that’s our obligation”.
“I think what is feasible and what is practical is to bring in a budget that first of all makes a significant statement in itself in terms of the determination of the country to do what’s right for the country and then to lay out a four-year programme in terms of how we will get to the 3 per cent,” he said.
“There’s no hiding place in terms of the issues, there’s no hiding place in terms of the specific proposals which will have to emerge,” he said. “I think people understand the gravity of the situation and the need at this particular juncture to rise above partisan politics.”
Minister of State for Science Conor Lenihan gave some support for the Green Party stance by saying a shared all-party approach to the four-year plan would be better and more desirable.
“It’s hugely important that we put aside our political differences and try to reach a consensus because the public are looking for leadership not just from the Government but from the entire political system,” Mr Lenihan said.