EDUCATION MOTION:POLITICAL PRESSURE on the Government has eased ahead of the vote on education cuts today but it emerged last night that a Green Party TD has raised doubts about the long-term survival of the coalition.
Dublin Mid West TD Paul Gogarty confirmed he wrote an e-mail saying his party "may eventually have to pull out of Government", but said the comment was made as part of a private correspondence and was taken out of context.
Dr Peter Duffy, a physics lecturer in UCD and also a member of the board of management of Moyle Park College in Clondalkin, had e-mailed Mr Gogarty about the Greens' position in the Dáil debate on education.
In one of the e-mails, Mr Gogarty wrote: "We may eventually have to pull out of Government on this or combined issues but it's not going to happen until we have exhausted all avenues. I will just have to take the flak and put up with it for now."
Mr Gogarty said last night the e-mails were part of a discussion on the education cutbacks. "I said that we may eventually have to pull out of Government. I was just acknowledging that possibility. I was not saying it was a definite possibility or it was our intention.
"I feel it was inappropriate for that private correspondence with a member of a school board of management to be leaked in that manner," said Mr Gogarty.
The party's spokesman in Government said that Mr Gogarty's comment were entirely consistent with his own statement and that of party leader John Gormley that the Green Party is in Government for the long haul. Talk of anything else is purely hypothetical," he said.
Despite a large demonstration outside the gates of Leinster House by teachers last night the political temperature dropped as it became clear that the Government had got over the scare caused by the defection of two TDs last week and would easily survive the vote today.
The Government has tabled an amendment to the Labour motion noting the necessity to stabilise the public finances through "difficult expenditure decisions" to ensure that public services, including education, can be sustained and improved in the long run.
Green Party TDs had insisted over the past few days that they would have an input into the Government amendment but they came under strong attack from Opposition TDs who claimed that they had failed to have any impact on the wording.
Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe last night accused the Opposition of whipping up "hysteria" and said they were being dishonest with the Irish people.
"Much drama and quite frankly, hysteria, has been whipped up about protecting our children's future and the impact, in particular, of increases in class size," he said. "I'm from Cork, a county that knows a thing or two about hurling. Jack Lynch was a great hurler. But Ruairí Quinn, who this morning refused to say where he'd make the savings, is the most skilful hurler on the ditch I've ever encountered," said Mr O'Keeffe.