Sargent slams Taoiseach's 'green' claims

Green Party Leader Trevor Sargent TD today responded with surprise to the Taoiseach's claim that Fianna Fáil has been following a green agenda for decades.

The Green Party Leader said: "Bertie Ahern has spent a long time doing nothing for the green agenda. To say that he was aware of green issues years ago, but that he has done nothing, is an admission of a gross abdication of responsibility.

"If, as he suggests, he has chosen to ignore these pressing issues, while being aware of them, then he is not fit for office.

"As Mr Ahern claims, Charles Haughey did indeed label Ireland's 1990 EU Presidency 'green', but the political context in which this decision was made must be borne in mind: the Green Party had had its first TD, Roger Garland, elected, and I had beaten Mary Harney in the European Parliament elections.

"The 'greenwashing' of the 1990 Presidency was pure political opportunism on Mr Haughey's part and, by trying to rewrite his party's history, Mr Ahern is simply repeating the same exercise. Approaching 2007, Mr Ahern knows which way the political wind is blowing and he is echoing Mr Haughey's cynicism.

"The questions that people must ask of Mr Ahern are: 'What have his governments done to combat climate change?' 'Have his Governments helped or hindered the Irish economy's preparation for the new energy realities of this century?' 'Have his Government's complied with the EU regulations on habitat protection or waste water?' On these counts, Mr Ahern's Governments have failed.

"The recent Budget is a more recent example of a failed 'greenwashing' experiment, which has simply resulted in hundreds of millions of euro being sent out of the economy to buy Ireland's way out of its international responsibilities under the Kyoto Protocol.

"In the face of huge challenges such as climate change and Peak Oil, realism must trump delusion. Mr Ahern's comments - which seem to be the epitome of self-delusion - are not a positive sign."