THE GREEN Party’s attempt to seek all-party consensus on the four-year austerity plan appeared to be on the verge of failure last night as Opposition parties portrayed the initiative as “unhelpful” and as “not serious”.
Fine Gael and Labour were 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.
Both parties expressed doubt that the initiative had the backing of Taoiseach Brian Cowen and of Fianna Fáil members of Government.
The letter was e-mailed to the leaders of Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin at about 7pm. However, neither party was willing to respond to its contents, citing what they said were the inordinate delays by the Greens in sending it. It is understood that part of the reason for the delay was the need for the letter to be reviewed by Mr Cowen, who was not in Dublin yesterday.
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.
However, the Opposition parties expressed strong doubt over Fianna Fáil’s willingness to embrace a consensual approach to the plan. This view was reinforced by comments by Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin yesterday who welcomed “consensual politics” before asserting that the ultimate decision was one for the Government.
A Government source said Fianna Fáil Ministers would be willing to participate in a meeting with the Opposition but would view the process as “constructive engagement”, with a view to taking suggestions and proposals on board but that the ultimate decision would be the Government’s. “The Government has been elected to govern. The Minister for Finance is the only person who can introduce a budget,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
A Fine Gael spokesman said Mr Gormley’s initiative had been confused and unhelpful and expressed bemusement at the delay in sending a letter, while a Labour spokesman said it was not a serious initiative.
Sinn Féin, which does not accept the proposition to reduce the deficit to 3 per cent by 2014, said it would not be part of “a consensus designed to facilitate savage cutbacks”.
