The European Parliament yesterday voted down a proposal by the European Council to restructure pay and allowances to MEPs.
By a majority of 376 to 140, with 31 abstentions, they accepted a counter-proposal put forward by the European Parliament that a working party be set up to negotiate with the council and reach agreement by the end of the year.
The Irish MEPs, who were present for the vote, supported this position. Mr Pat Cox, leader of the Liberal Group in the parliament said that, in general, his party had supported the proposals put forward by the council but it had wanted certain safeguards, as in the pension scheme, to be dealt with.
In its statement, Fine Gael described the vote as "in favour of reform" adding that if the parliament's proposals are accepted, the draft would reform rules on expenses which had been severely criticised.
Ms Patricia McKenna, the Green MEP, accused the Socialists and the Christian Democrats of deliberately scuppering any chance of getting a common statute for members of the parliament agreed before the forthcoming European elections.
Ms Bernie Malone said she was unhappy the issue had not been resolved before the European elections but she had voted for the parliament's proposals.
Meanwhile, the parliament will today ratify the Agenda 2000 proposals which reformed the Common Agricultural Policy and the cohesion and structural funding.
During the debate on the new deal, the Leinster MEP, Mr Alan Gillis (FG), said the deal fell far short of what was needed by producers in Europe.
"The promise of full compensation for price cuts, given in 1992, is not being honoured in the Agenda 2000 discussions and while farmers suffer much over prices, the cost of the CAP rises on a continuous basis and more importantly, consumers pay more and more for their food," he said. Mr Liam Hyland, Fianna Fail MEP, said the outcome of the Agenda 2000 negotiations in Berlin represented a significant result for Irish agriculture and rural communities in Ireland.
The debate resumes later today.