INDEPENDENTS:INDEPENDENTS JACKIE Healy- Rae and Michael Lowry have expressed strong doubts about voting for next month's budget.
They have been supporting the Government in return for various constituency projects. If they fail to support the Government in the budget vote, it might have to rely on the casting vote of Ceann Comhairle Seamus Kirk to have it passed.
The Fianna Fáil-Green Coalition has a working majority of three at present. With the support of the two Independents and Minister for Health Mary Harney, it commands the support of 82 TDs, with 79 Opposition votes.
Should it lose this week’s byelection, the majority would decrease to 2. The loss of Mr Healy-Rae and Mr Lowry would result in a tie, and the Government would have to rely on Mr Kirk’s casting vote.
However, Independents Joe Behan and Finian McGrath might decide to support the budget in the national interest, leaving the Government with a majority.
The Dáil arithmetic could be further complicated if any of the Government backbenchers decided to vote against the budget.
Mr Healy-Rae, who represents Kerry South, said he would not support a budget which reduced the old age pension and increased third-level registration fees which would put education out of the reach of many young people.
Following consultations with key members of his local organisation, Mr Healy-Rae issued a statement early yesterday accusing Taoiseach Brian Cowen of telling “blatant lies’’ to the Irish people on the multibillion-euro package.
He added that “Cabinet Ministers, to a man, were singing from the same sheet’’. Mr Healy-Rae said he had great respect for Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, to whom he spoke on the telephone yesterday, and he would support the budget if it was “some way fair and reasonable’’.
Mr Lowry, who represents Tipperary North, said it was “highly unlikely’’ he would support the budget, and he challenged Fine Gael and Labour to put forward their budgetary proposals. “These are the two parties expected to form the next government,’’ he said.
They should have discussions with Mr Lenihan to reach agreement on budgetary matters in the national interest, he said.
Mr Lowry said he had been predicting that an election was inevitable in January because of nervousness on the part of backbenchers and the determination of some within Fianna Fáil to undermine the Taoiseach.