Sargent pours cold water on coalition with Fianna Fáil
“This particular Fianna Fáil is not the Fianna Fáil with which any party should be responsibly in government,” Mr Sargent said in a categoric rejection of any such deal.
He was responding to an interview with Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot
Ahern in yesterday’s Irish Examiner in which he said that Fianna Fáil could do business with the Greens and that a coalition between the parties was not far fetched.
The minister said Fianna Fáil had proven its green credentials in Government but added that the Green Party would have to radically temper its economic policies, which he described as “scary” and “wobbly”.
Mr Sargent, speaking on RTÉ Radio yesterday, attacked the Government’s environmental record and asserted it was belatedly seeing the “writing on the wall” about climate change and a mounting energy crisis.
“The minister has some cheek saying he has a good record on the environment. The European Environment Agency has certainly not been saying that,” he said.
Mr Sargent said that, in relation to waste reduction, Ireland was at the bottom of the league of European countries.
He denied that his party’s economic policies were “scary” or “wobbly” and said that other parties were trying to stoke up fears that the Greens would impose many new taxes, including property taxes.
He said the Greens were interested in a much fairer tax system.
He pointed to the recent Revenue Commissioner report that showed the top 400 earners in the country pay tax of only 25%.
“That’s Fianna Fáil making sure the tax system favours the wealthiest in the country,” he said.
Mr Sargent also claimed that Fianna Fáil would ruin the country if the party was returned to power.
“The Green Party is running the most responsible policies, policies which countries like Finland have been successfully implementing for years,” he contended.
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