Wipeout

BRIAN COWEN’S bruised and battered Government will stagger on in office after the Green Party admitted it dare not pull out of coalition and risk a general election.

Mr Cowen insisted he was unaware of any criticism of his leadership within Fianna Fáil, despite disastrous local election results being compounded last night by the likely loss of the party’s Dublin MEP Eoin Ryan. Mr Cowen also said the Government would defeat a motion of no confidence being tabled by Fine Gael in the Dáil tomorrow, and rejected suggestions his mandate had been weakened.

But all eyes were on the Greens after they lost 15 of its 18 councillors and saw their Euro and Dáil by-election candidates flop in a nightmare outcome for party leader John Gormley.