THE DÁIL will be on standby with a quorum of 20 deputies on Saturday evening to deal with any recommendations on the Finance Bill that may come from Seanad Éireann.
Under an agreement between all the parties, except Sinn Féin, the Dáil will complete all stages of the Bill by Thursday and provision has been made for the Seanad to sit on Friday and Saturday to discuss the proposed legislation.
The TDs who will be on standby include Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, the finance spokespersons of the other parties and a number of Dublin-based deputies. The Seanad does not have the power to amend a Finance Bill.
A Sinn Féin delegation at the meeting refused to go along with the inter-party agreement and did not return after an interval in the talks. The party’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said the agreement was “disgusting”.
At the meeting in his department yesterday, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said that provisions dealing with the rights of inheritance and transfer of assets in civil partnerships would not be ready in time. The meeting agreed that a second Finance Bill would be brought before the next Dáil to deal with these issues.
The Minister told reporters afterwards: “I am glad to say that agreement has been reached this evening. All stages of the Finance Bill will be completed by next Saturday.
“Obviously the parties reserve their rights to argue the merits of different parts of the Bill. But the Bill will be dealt with next Saturday. We have sufficient time now to consider the Bill in detail. The Seanad will sit on Friday and Saturday and that leaves some scope for amending the Bill if further amendment is required.”
Asked after the meeting if the agreement on the timetable meant the general election would now take place on February 25th, Fine Gael finance spokesman Michael Noonan said: “We got no confirmation of that. But when you apply the constitutional rule that it must be between 21 and 28 days of the dissolution and the fact that there is no business being ordered by the Government for next Tuesday’s session in the Dáil, that week, ending on Friday the 25th, looks to be the likely time for the election.”
Asked when he expected the Taoiseach to call the election, he said: “He certainly won’t call it before the Dáil and Seanad complete business on Saturday evening. So he could call it on Sunday or Monday, but he may want to go into the Dáil on Tuesday morning and have a valedictory speech.” He added: “We didn’t want to push that too hard, he has a constitutional prerogative to dissolve the Dáil and to go to the President to get the dissolution, and to fix the date of the election.”
Labour finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said: “I believe that, following our discussions, it is extremely likely now that the date of the next general election will be Friday the 25th of February.
“I believe we had a good afternoon’s work,” she said, adding that a timetable proposed by the Labour Party had been the basis for the agreement between the parties.
The Dáil would be on standby on Saturday in case there were amendments recommended by the Seanad. If the Taoiseach did not then proceed within days to have the Dáil dissolved, Opposition motions of no confidence in the Government would be taken.
“Our understanding from the Green Party delegation who were at the talks was that they will support that vote of no confidence,” Ms Burton said.
Green Party representative and former communications minister Éamon Ryan said this was a matter for the parliamentary party and he could not be categorical about it but he had given a “very strong sense” that it would be very difficult for the Greens to see the Dáil continuing after Tuesday.
“I am very glad to say that we have agreement, I think, on a way we can get our Finance Bill through.
“It is a time for exactly that, not party politics but national politics and I am really pleased to see it happen,” Mr Ryan said.
However, Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said: “I think what is happening in the Department of Finance is nothing short of disgusting.
“What we’re seeing is the consensus of cuts all over again, where the Labour Party and Fine Gael with the Green Party are supporting this Government to introduce the Finance Bill by Saturday of this week.” He said Mr Lenihan had asked him and his party colleagues to leave the meeting, “once I told him that he didn’t have the mandate to introduce the legal effects of the Budget that was introduced in December”.
“We refused to leave and said that we were entitled to be there like any other party,” Mr Doherty added.
Election Date
THE GENERAL election could take place anytime between February 19th and March 2nd although Friday, February 25th, is seen as the most likely date.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen could ask the President as early as this Saturday to dissolve the 30th Dáil. That is the time when the Finance Bill is expected to have passed all stages.
Mr Cowen is expected to come into the Dáil on Tuesday next to announce that he is going to Áras an Uachtaráin to seek a dissolution.
Under the relevant legislation, a general election must be held within 18 to 25 days.