POLL DATE:THE GREEN Party has said it would be "unacceptable" for the general election to be held in April or any later. Party leader John Gormley said yesterday it was his firm conviction that the election should take place in March.
Mr Gormley led a party delegation to meet Taoiseach Brian Cowen yesterday at which they urged him to name a date for the election.
There is general agreement that the election should be called once the Finance Bill has passed through the Oireachtas. However, Fianna Fáil has suggested to its junior Coalition partner this might necessitate a polling day in early April.
“We do need an election in March. As far as we are concerned, to let it drift beyond March into April will be unacceptable,” Mr Gormley told reporters outside Leinster House yesterday.
Speaking later on RTÉ, Senator Dan Boyle insisted his party would not support an election in April, May or June. “We do not foresee an election in April. That is the discussion we have with other parties in Government,” he said.
Senator Boyle also accepted the Green Party had been too ambitious about the speed of passage of the Finance Bill when saying that Mr Cowen should call the election at the end of January.
Mr Gormley said he, Senator Boyle and Minister for Energy Éamon Ryan had represented the Greens at the meeting with Mr Cowen, Minister for Defence Tony Killeen and Government Chief Whip John Curran representing Fianna Fáil.
In relation to Fianna Fáil’s leadership challenge, he said the Greens had stood back from the debate as it was an internal Fianna Fáil issue. Asked about the possibility of a reshuffle, Mr Gormley said it was a matter for Mr Cowen.
“It is a constitutional prerogative. He not indicated anything to us other than he is taking over the portfolio of Micheál Martin, he has not indicated who he is going to reshuffle at this stage,” he said.
Mr Gormley reiterated his view that it was very important to have a general election as quickly as possible.
Mr Gormley also said he thought it was possible to get key pieces of legislation initiated by the Greens through the Oireachtas before it is dissolved.
He also criticised the Labour Party for, he said, allowing some of its representatives to say “opportunistically they are opposed to the Climate Change Bill”.
“We cannot have Senator Ivana Bacik say she favours [a] climate change [Bill] and [its agriculture spokesman] Seán Sherlock saying he is opposed to it.
“We have set out a clear timeline for when the legislation should go through the Seanad and the committee stage amendments and the Dáil,” he said.
Separately, Green Party TD Paul Gogarty said the party was prepared to sacrifice its own legislative aims, including the Corporate Donations Bill, to facilitate an earlier election.
