Negotiating teams from the Green Party and Fianna Fáil resumed talks today on a new programme for Government.
A document detailing the Green objectives was given to Taoiseach Brian Cowen by the Green Party leader John Gormley on Tuesday and it formed the basis for negotiations between the two parties, which began yesterday evening.
The talks have now broken up for tonight. They will continue tomorrow morning and are expected to continue into next week.
Among the key demands of the Green Party is a reversal of recent education cuts, a reduction in the number of TDs, major changes in the electoral system and a commitment to a single-tier universal health system.
Other priority measures being sought by the Greens are a new third rate of income tax, the abolition of the PRSI ceiling, the integration of the income levies with the tax rates and a clampdown on tax exiles.
An animal welfare Bill that would ban hare coursing, stag hunting, fur farming and the importation of wild animals to be used in circuses is another objective.
The Greens are also insisting that basic social welfare entitlements and overseas development aid should not be cut in the forthcoming budget. They also want a massive shift of emphasis from investment in road building to public transport initiatives in the Government’s capital programme.
The Green negotiating team of Cabinet Minister Eamon Ryan, party chairman Senator Dan Boyle and Carlow Kilkenny TD Mary White, and the Fianna Fáil team of three senior Ministers, Noel Dempsey, Dermot Ahern and Mary Hanafin, met for nearly two hours yesterday and will meet again today and over the coming days.
The outcome of the negotiations is due to be presented to a convention of Green Party members on Saturday week. Unless it is approved by two-thirds of the members attending the convention, the Greens will be obliged to leave Government.
The party is seeking a commitment from its partners that the value of social welfare payments should be protected for the next three years. That would mean no changes in basic payments over the remainder of the term of Government, although secondary benefits and some universal payments might suffer cuts.
A total revamp of the health service with the introduction of a universal single-tier system is another key part of the plan. Tax incentives for private health insurance would be abolished. On education the Greens are insisting spending should return to the September 2008 level before this year’s budget cuts. Any public sector pay cuts would be excluded from calculations on the subject.
The party wants a restoration of a pupil-teacher ratio of one-to-27 in primary schools, the maintenance of capitation grants to primary and secondary schools at September 2008 levels and the reinstatement of library and book grants to levels that operated a year ago. The Greens also want the system for third-level education maintained, with a commitment not to introduce third-level fees or loans or increase registration fees.
The party also wants a new system for financing local government to ensure the viability of local services, with the introduction of water charges based on a system where households get a free basic allowance.
An important part of the Green document focuses on the need for reform of the political system. The party wants a commitment to a constitutional amendment to reduce the number of TDs and to change the electoral system to a mixture of multi-seat PR and a list system. Also proposed are substantial cuts in the salaries of all politicians, with the Taoiseach taking a 25 per cent cut, Ministers 20 per cent and backbenchers 10 per cent.
Another cherished Green objective is an animal health and welfare Bill to consolidate and update existing legislation on the health and welfare of the country’s animals. Among the provisions of the legislation would be a ban on fur farming, a ban on the importation of wild animals to be used in circuses, badger vaccination in place of culling, and a ban on stag hunting and hare coursing.
Equality is another important issue, with a demand for the creation of a new State infrastructure to deal with equality issues.
Minister for Health Mary Harney, now effectively an independent TD, has also submitted a document listing her priorities for her area and for other areas of Government policy.