Finance Bill meeting called for 4pm tomorrow

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has welcomed the Green Party's decision to support the Finance Bill, albeit from the opposition benches.

This evening Mr Lenihan announced he had invited members of the Green Party and the opposition parties to a meeting at the Department of Finance party tomorrow at 4pm.

He said the meeting was intended "to see how we can agree a timetable for the Finance Bill".

Earlier, Sinn Fein Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said the Finance Bill should not be put before the Dáil and that the Dáil should be dissolved straight away to allow a General Election.

He said: "The Fianna Fáil/Green Government has totally disintegrated, yet the Green Party wants to press ahead with that Government’s Finance Bill in the Dáil next week.

"The travesty of democracy continues."