Greens put final touches to crucial motions

GREEN Party headquarters has finalised the motions to be put before members at a crucial conference on October 10 that will decide the Government’s future.

There is considerable anger among some members, however, at how the process has been handled.

At the conference, party members will debate both the revised Programme for Government currently being negotiated by the coalition partners, and the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).

If the vote on either issue goes against the headquarters’ wishes, it will force the Greens to pull out of the coalition.

The Programme for Government motion states: “The Green Party/Comhaontas Glas will continue to participate in Government on the basis of the new Programme for Government presented to this meeting.”

This motion will require two-thirds support. Anything less will result in the collapse of Government.

The NAMA motion states: “The Green Party/Comhaontas Glas rejects the National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009 and requires the parliamentary party to reject it in the Oireachtas.”

If it receives two-thirds support, it also means the party leaving the coalition.

But some members had sought a motion calling on NAMA to pay market value for loans it will buy from banks and sought greater transparency. “This is not democratic,” said Pat Fitzpatrick, a member of the Greens Against Nama group. “This is top-down politics trying to railroad NAMA through.”