DELEGATES AT the Green Party national convention next month will call for a special convention to decide on the party’s continuation in Government.
A spokesman confirmed yesterday a motion has been tabled calling for the special meeting of all members during 2010.
Another motion calling for a government of national unity will also be debated at the convention, in Wexford on March 6-8th.
The motion from the Dublin Mid-West Greens, where Paul Gogarty is the local TD, expresses strong criticism of the cutbacks in education and notes that the “current economic situation has been exacerbated by bad economic decisions when times were better, as well as . . . the creation of a political and financial climate that facilitated vested interests and rampant greed”.
It requests the national executive to organise a special convention in April 2010 to vote on the party’s continued participation in government following a reasonable period of deliberation and reflection.
The motion says that two options should be presented to delegates – to withdraw from Government or to reaffirm its commitment to government for the remainder of the term. There are two motions on national unity, one from Waterford and the other from the Belfast branch.
One calls on the party to enter into negotiations with all other parties in Dáil Éireann, including Sinn Féin, “with a view to establishing a government of national unity”.
“Our economy is on a knife-edge; climate change is nearing a point of no return and the gap between rich and poor risks destabilising our society. Taken together these problems almost defy comprehension.
“We need solidarity among politicians if we are to find solutions to these unprecedented problems. The Dáil allows little scope for bipartisan politics as the opposition are precluded from making decisions, though in the past Fine Gael bravely adopted the ‘Tallaght Strategy’ and supported tough government measures.”
Both motions are critical of aspect of Fianna Fáil and of some Ministers.
Last year, the party convention overwhelmingly rejected a motion that was critical of the party’s performance in government.
