Greens risk going way of the PDs

WHY are the Greens still on Government side of the Dail?

Let the so-called independents support Fianna Fáil if they like, but the Dáil vote on the motion to reject the withdrawal of universal entitlement to a medical card for the over-70s should have been a defining moment in the history of the Greens .

This was the perfect storm for Gormley & Co to make their mark on the political landscape for years to come.

Instead, they have slowly started to become indistinguishable from Fianna Fáil.

That is hardly an association that will stand them in good stead considering the impending departure of the PDs whose demise can be traced directly back Michael McDowell’s refusal to pull the plug on Bertie Ahern at the height of his financial wrangling before the Mahon tribunal.

Would McDowell have lost his seat if he had acted bravely when it mattered? The irony that John Gormely benefited substantially from McDowell’s decision to exchange political integrity for a leather-upholstered seat for a few more months should not be lost on the Greens lest they go the same way as their former sworn enemies.

Kieran Sullivan

Georgestown

Kilmacthomas

Co Waterford