Expected Green tide fails to materialise

THE expected Green tide last night turned direction and drowned the party’s hopes of substantial General Election gains.

Instead of taking their tally from six TDs into double figures, three of their biggest names were left fighting for survival while the high profile breakthrough candidates failed to deliver the goods.

The poor showing left a serious question mark over the future of party leader Trevor Sargent who struggled to get re-elected in his Dublin North constituency. The Greens could still be needed by Fianna Fáil to form a stable governing coalition, depending on how the final dozen or so tight races shape up.

Last night Ciaran Cuffe was engaged in a rearguard struggle to retain his Dun Laoghaire seat. And Dan Boyle was struggling in Cork South Central.

To compound the Green downturn, a string of high profile candidates across the country failed to land the party’s key targets.

Galway mayor Nail O’Boichain missed out in his bid to take Galway West despite major anger in the area over the water crisis in the city which is believed to have been caused by environmental pollution Deirdre de Burca was another casualty of a weak Green performance as she missed out on a seat in Wicklow which most commentators had expected her to win easily.

The Greens made little impact in the national campaign and their strategy of remaining aloof from the Rainbow alliance between Labour and Fine Gael will now come under examination.

The showing is a major set-back for the party after environmental issues took a much higher profile in the run-up to the election.