Green TD Gogarty blasts Hanafin comments

Green Party TD Paul Gogarty has reacted furiously to comments from Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin who said this morning that she didn't think the junior coalition party had the best interests of the country at heart.

It follows yesterday's announcement from the Greens that they want an election in January or else they will pull out of Government.

Deputy Gogarty said Minister Hanafin's comment "beggars belief" and if his party weren't acting in the interests of the country they'd have pulled the plug long before now.

"We could have gone to the country any time," Deputy Gogarty said. "We could have picked issues like NAMA or the bank recapitalisation, but we believed they were necessary to try and minimise the impact of Fianna Fáil's work.

"We could have also plugged the plug and gone now, but we didn't," Deputy Gogarty added. "We're leaving in January once we get the tough decisions made.

"I don't think any political party is going to vote for a Budget that is going to make it even more unpopular if it is serving its own interests rather than the country's interests."