Sargent to FF: get rid of inept ministers

GREEN Party leader Trevor Sargent has refused to rule out a coalition with Fianna Fáil, but says Bertie Ahern would have to fire a number of ineffective ministers before any arrangement could be considered.

He also said he saw little real difference between the current Fianna Fáil/PD government and the alternative proposed by Fine Gael and Labour.

Any coalition formed after next summer’s election would require Green Party involvement to ensure policies are implemented so that the country could “thrive, not just survive”, he said.

Mr Sargent was speaking in Co Wicklow, where the party met over the last two days to finalise election strategy.

The Greens are targeting 10 constituencies for possible gains to add to their six TDs.

Although personally opposed to a coalition with Fianna Fáil, Mr Sargent said that in a democracy the government had to reflect the mood of the electorate.

For that reason, he wouldn’t rule out a coalition with Fianna Fáil. Nor would the party agree a pre-election pact with Fine Gael and Labour.

“I would ask that people would recognise that we’re not in the business of putting one or other person into the office of Taoiseach; what we’re in the business of is implementing Green Party policy, and that’s the bottom line,” he said.

“I actually don’t see a huge difference between the current bloc that’s in and the bloc that [wants] to be in at the moment. Both believe in hyper-expansionist policies, both don’t recognise that we’re living on a finite planet, and there would need to be considerable leverage from the Green Party to bring about the change of culture that would make it possible to deliver the quality of life and sustainable future which the country needs.”

But while the party is keeping its options open, Mr Sargent insisted the Greens would not compromise on core policies in areas such as housing, health, transport and energy if it enters negotiations to form a government. An internal committee is drawing up a “specific list of deliverables” that would be central to such negotiations, according to party chairman John Gormley.

Mr Sargent also said that, if those negotiations involved Fianna Fáil, he personally would not govern with junior minister Frank Fahey, whom he has accused in the Dáil of being “a dodgy builder”.

The Greens are preparing a file on Mr Fahey to send to the Standards in Public Office Commission.

“I don’t think Fianna Fáil would be serious about government if they had people like Frank Fahey, or indeed Martin Cullen, who has ended rail freight, or indeed even Dick Roche, who seems to think that climate change is more about press releases than taking action.

“There is a number of ministers who would have to say goodbye before we had any effective government.”