Greens row in behind cabinet ahead of grassroots policy review
Despite a bust-up with Fianna Fáil earlier on Tuesday, its two senior ministers, John Gormley and Eamon Ryan, rowed in behind the rest of the cabinet and said budgetary cuts were painful but necessary.
Mr Gormley said the report required a measured response.
“Certainly it gets people thinking and you have to look at it very objectively, not engaging in knee-jerkism and it has been presented in the media as a type of budget. It is not a budget.
“There will be debate around a lot of the issues, but I’m not excluding anything or including anything at this stage,” he said.
He did say, however, that the most vulnerable must be protected.
During a discussion on the environment on RTÉ’s Derek Mooney show, Mr Ryan said tough decisions were necessary and everything would be considered.
The two ministers will lead the party in a postmortem of its local election losses at a special conference this morning at 10.30am in Dublin’s Hilton Hotel.
All discussions before lunch will be devoted to the impending review of the Programme for Government.
It will allow the party grassroots to present their thoughts on their priorities and attitude towards government policy. They can also vent opinions on this week’s bust-up between the party’s senators and Justice Minister Dermot Ahern.
In the afternoon, all attention will shift to a crucial vote on the Lisbon II referendum.
The party needs a two-thirds majority of its delegates to agree to campaign for the treaty to change its policy. When it failed to get this before the first referendum the leadership was forced to remain neutral.
Mr Gormley said he hopes his party will back his pro-treaty stance and unite the Government on the yes side.
“I have no problem at all with a variety of views within the Green Party and I can’t predict whether we will get a two-thirds majority or not. I hope we do because I think the Lisbon treaty is in the best interests of this country.
“I believe from a Green perspective that Lisbon is essential to protecting our environment,” he said.
The party’s vote will take place by secret ballot at 5pm with the results available within 30 minutes.
WITH Bord Snip Nua’s report now out in the open, these are some of the next steps on the road to the inevitable slashing of billions of euro in government spending.
After a five-hour cabinet meeting on Wednesday, ministers left to go through the report line-by-line and see which savings are manageable.
The ministers will also call in their associated agencies to assess how feasible the measures are.
The overall budgetary strategy document went to cabinet this month and, along with Bord Snip Nua, it sets the parameters for the process ahead.
The commission meets today and will report within weeks on its recommendations for a complete overhaul of how the country collects taxes and what it raises revenues from. This has been 18 months in the making and promises to be as sobering as an Bord Snip Nua.
Cleverly, the Government referred the report to the Oireachtas Finance Committee, where politicians from all parties will take ownership of the debate for a number of months.
Chairman Michael Ahern, of Fianna Fáil, said he would meet with members next week to decide if substantive deliberations would begin during July or after the recess.
Once the Finance Committee meets to discuss the report it will invite the opinion of key players affected by the cuts and use these to deliver a recommendation to Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.
Each department will return to Mr Lenihan in early autumn with a wish list of what they want in next year’s budget. Unlike other years, they will be fighting off cuts rather than pitching for new money.
Bilateral meetings will take place in September and October between finance and the other departments to tease out precise details.
TDs come back to work in early September to deal with the creation of the National Assets Management Agency. At this point the opposition will have their opportunity to hammer the report and the progress being made.
By October interest groups will be pleading directly to the Department for Finance for their funding to remain intact, or to be increased, next year.
Traditionally, within weeks of the budget, the finance minister will publish ballpark estimates on where money will be spent and what will be cut. This will give a clear indication of how much of the work of Bord Snip Nua and the Commission on Taxation was taken on board.
The Government is determined the budget will be announced in early December and will not be brought forward to accelerate the changes called for by Bord Snip. This will be when the Government fights or falls.
Once the budget is out of the way and the Government’s plans are laid bare, the battle will be begin on the debate around the subsequent finance bill. This is the last chance to make changes to any Bord Snip Nua recommendations in the budget before they are legally binding.
It is likely to take place against the backdrop of severe industrial unrest.
Prepared by Conor Ryan
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