Two-thirds of speakers at Green meeting favour entering coalition

Two-thirds of Green Party members who addressed a nine-hour special online convention on Thursday spoke in favour of entering government.

More than 70 of the party’s members participated in the online convention which was watched by some 2,000 members.

Most attention focused on the speech of deputy leader Catherine Martin at the start of the convention. Ms Martin had opposed a coalition with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil but had then led the Green Party negotiating team. While she indicated support for the programme for government when the parliamentary party voted on Monday night, the depth of that support was not known until yesterday.

In the event, Ms Martin endorsed the programme strongly and unequivocally.

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“I am satisfied that the deal negotiated was the best achievable and at its heart many worthwhile [Green principles].”

However, she said she was also cognisant of its many shortcomings.

Some 238 members applied to speak, with two-thirds of them indicating support for the deal.

Party leader Eamon Ryan, who was the final speaker, argued the plan was transformative. “A change in economics is coming. Neoliberalism is in decline. The Green New Deal is on the rise,” he said.

Mr Ryan said the commitment to end direct provision would give “everybody their front door”.

Speaking for a second time, Dublin Central TD Neasa Hourigan, who was on the negotiating team but is voting no, argued a coalition with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil would produce the “most fiscally conservative government in a generation”.

Of the draft programme, she said: “It fails to tackle housing and homelessness. I believe it will make them worse.”

Referring to suggestions the party might “miss the boat” by not going into government, she said: “That boat may be the Titanic.”

Earlier, the three TDs who abstained in the parliamentary party vote on Monday night all argued against the programme. Ms Hourigan outlined concerns about a lack of new taxes, arguing there was “no magical money”.

She said the two larger parties had rejected a spate of changes to tax measures including a wealth tax, expansion of section 481, flight tax, poverty-proofing of budgets, public banking, a site value tax, a windfall tax to stop speculation and country-by-country reporting on their tax spend by large companies with a turnover above €750 million.

Francis Noel Duffy argued against the Land Development Agency, which he said was motivated by profit, while Patrick Costello insisted the programme fell short on many social-justice criteria.

However, some members supporting a coalition arrangement asked what the alternative might be. “I am not aware of a credible alternative to government at this point,” said one Cork-based member.

There was praise from speakers on both sides about the 7 per cent emissions reductions, the ‘wins’ on cycling and walking, as well as a commitment to end direct provision.

Shortfalls

There was acceptance also in both camps that there had been shortfalls on housing, carbon tax (the absence of fee and dividend), animal welfare, live exports, the Palestinian issue, deficit reduction and health. Strong views were expressed as to whether or not the coalition would be one of austerity.

Dublin West TD Roderic O’Gorman said: “The Green Party will not be part of austerity. It will be part of a government that promotes a national green stimulus to restart our economy.”

However, later Cllr Lorna Bogue said: “This is an austerity programme for government. There can be no doubt about that.”

One of the negotiators, Ossian Smyth, told the meeting that the M20 motorway to Cork would not proceed during the five-year term and also threw doubt over the Galway bypass. Those assertions were quickly contested.

The American-based developer of the proposed liquid natural gas facility in Shannon indicated it proposed to proceed with the project, despite the programme committing to scrap it.

Other parliamentarians including Marc Ó Cathasaigh, Pauline O’Reilly and Joe O’Brien spoke in favour of coalition. Mr O’Brien said the document was not a detailed project-management statement.