The Green Party leadership has proposed to its members that no policy decision be taken on the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) until after the Lisbon referendum.
Concerns about the Nama legislation have led five constituency groups to call a special convention to decide policy, as provided for in the party constitution.
Initially it was proposed that this convention would take place on September 12th, four days prior to the introduction of the Bill to the Dáil. A further convention on October 10th would consider the Programme for Government.
However, the party leadership has proposed that the September 12th meeting be purely consultative, with no binding decisions until the second meeting in October.
The five Dáil constituency groups are discussing the leadership proposal, and a response is expected early this week.
Commenting on Green concerns that the Bill would already have passed all stages in the Dáil by October 10th, Government sources told The Irish Times this was extremely unlikely.
“The indications are that a situation wouldn’t be created that would cause difficulties of that nature to the leadership of the Green Party,” Fianna Fáil sources said last night.
A preliminary version of the Bill has already been circulated for public discussion.
However, the legislation will not be formally published until September 1st, and is expected to include some changes to the text already issued. “The Government is extremely anxious to get the legislation passed, and it wants to get the maximum co-operation from as many parties as possible,” sources in Fianna Fáil said.
Green Party activist James Nix said: “The Nama proposal doesn’t follow best practice: it channels a whole lot of money into shareholders’ pockets in advance of nationalisation.”
Local election candidate Gary Fitzgerald said: “It would be good to see the Dáil timetable to reassure members that the Bill would not be already passed by October 10th.”
Green Party Senator Dan Boyle said it was proposed that a “preferendum” would take place at the September 12th meeting, whereby members could indicate their main concerns in relation to the Nama Bill or even outright rejection if that was their choice.
He criticised the Fine Gael plan for the banking crisis.
“I think it’s voodoo economics. It is inherently dishonest to say you can spend €2 billion to solve a €90 billion problem. The likelihood is that every approach you take will come to the same price-tag.”
Observers say that, in the event that the Green Party leadership proposal is rejected and members from the five constituency groups insist on a decision-making convention rather than an advisory conference on September 12th, the party will be in uncharted territory, although consultations between both sides in the debate would continue.
Meanwhile, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has welcomed a letter he received from Labour’s finance spokeswoman Joan Burton in which she outlines her concerns about Nama.
Describing the valuation procedure in the Bill as “extremely troubling”, Ms Burton says it could result in “a huge financial burden not just on current taxpayers but on future generations of taxpayers”.
Mr Lenihan told RTÉ Radio he was “disappointed” at the rejection of Nama by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny. However, the Minister added: “I was encouraged by a letter I received from the Labour Party.
“And I’m certainly willing to engage with all the parties to ensure that we have a responsible debate on this, and that we take our time at it,” said Mr Lenihan.
