Employment schemes - Government must listen to majority

CRITICISM of Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy’s stubborn stance on the issue of the Community Employment Scheme (CES) will hardly elicit any change in his attitude when he delivers his Budget today.

Despite the posturing by a cadre of his backbench colleagues, the chances of the minister providing any extra funding for the scheme is as likely as a Dáil revolt by those same backbenchers against the Government.

Other issues have arisen previously over which Fianna Fáil TDs fulminated at parliamentary party meetings and "gangs" of them of reportedly various numerical strength affected an air of dissent. Inevitably, they marched straight into the Dáil and voted with the Government, having vented their protestations.