Tensions between the Greens and their Fianna Fáil partners in government have emerged with a statement from Green TD Ciarán Cuffe that his party would only support the EU Reform Treaty if the Government also fully supported the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
A Green Party spokesman said Mr Cuffe's views as acting foreign affairs spokesman represented "the official Green Party position" and "would certainly be shared by the parliamentary party".
The spokesman said support for the charter was "a huge issue" for the Greens throughout Europe, who had been in touch with the Irish Greens after the recent EU summit. "We're either opting in or opting out," the spokesman said.
Ambivalent signals have been coming from the Fianna Fáil side of the Government since it was revealed that Britain had secured an opt-out from the charter. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's comments on the issue to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions conference yesterday failed to clarify the issue for the Greens.
In a statement issued on Tuesday but which the party spokesman said still applied, Mr Cuffe said: "The Green Party will not support Ireland's watering-down of EU-wide equality legislation for domestic implementation."
He added: "We are actively seeking the adoption of a strong and legally-binding charter. Opting-out would damage equality within Europe and effectively render Irish people as second class citizens in terms of protection of their rights."
Meanwhile, Fine Gael foreign affairs spokesman Bernard Allen said: "The Government has mishandled this situation and allowed considerable doubt to develop with regard to Ireland's position on the charter, and this is very unwise and unwelcome. The question must also be asked as to why Ireland still has reserved a position on the charter, following the unhelpful lead of the United Kingdom."
