Greens ‘in government for long haul’ despite concerns

THE Green Party are “in government for the long haul” despite continuing concerns about aspects of the budget, according to Green TD Paul Gogarty.

The Dublin Mid-West deputy said the Greens did not threaten to pull out of Government over the medical card controversy, directly contradicting claims by deputy leader Mary White who said they were ready to walk over the issue. “We were prepared to exit Government if there was not a change. I can say that absolutely,” Ms White said on Carlow Kilkenny Radio on Tuesday.

Yesterday, Mr Gogarty told RTÉ radio: “During this whole debate there was criticism of the Green Party saying we were too quite. Some of my colleagues came out and maybe they shouldn’t have, saying we would have been prepared to walk if the issues hadn’t been reversed in medical cards.”