Fine Gael breached ‘confidence and supply’ deal, says FF

Fianna Fáil has told Fine Gael that the Government party breached the “confidence and supply” agreement between the two parties when it blocked justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan’s Bill on judicial appointments this week.

Senior Fianna Fáil sources say that Fine Gael is now in breach of the agreement on which their support for the Government is based.

“They have damaged trust, they have breached the confidence and supply agreement and that will have consequences,” said Mr O’Callaghan.

He told Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald on Wednesday that it was the view of the Fianna Fáil leadership that Fine Gael had broken the agreement by blocking his Bill, though it is understood Ms Fitzgerald did not accept his view.

Senior sources in Fine Gael dispute the view that the agreement is broken, but this remains the position of the Fianna Fáil leadership.

Sources say that the relationship between the two parties has been damaged.

“Is it damaging to the confidence and supply agreement? Yes it is,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

Technical objection

Mr O’Callaghan’s Bill reforming the way judges are appointed was due to be discussed by the Oireachtas Justice Committee on Wednesday. However, the Government has its own judicial appointments Bill, which has been demanded by Minister for Transport Shane Ross, in preparation, and it employed a technical objection to block the Bill.

It judged that the Bill contained a possible charge on the exchequer, and so needed a “money message” signed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny to allow it to progress. The Taoiseach did not supply the message, and so the Bill could go no further.

Fine Gael sources privately acknowledged that blocking the O’Callaghan Bill was a “stroke”, carried out to meet the requests of Mr Ross that the Government Bill be fast-tracked.

However, they point out that Mr O’Callaghan pulled a “stroke” himself when he exploited the absence of Fine Gael TDs at a meeting of the committee in October to bypass the prelegislative stage.

Both sides acknowledge that the grounds for blocking the Bill were technically correct, but tenuous. The following day, the Government allowed another Bill, on the legalisation of cannabis including for medicinal uses which provided for the setting up of two State agencies, involving significant costs to the exchequer.

Growing concerns

However, there is growing concerns at senior levels of Government, in some cases prompted by unease among senior civil servants, and the volume and content of Private Members’ Bills being brought forward by Opposition TDs.

The Bill on cannabis as drafted would have legalised all cannabis use, even though its promoter, People Before Profit-Anti Austerity Alliance TD Gino Kenny said that was not his intention.

Other Bills have been privately criticised by officials and one senior Cabinet member told The Irish Times that there was likely to be a clampdown on the number of Bills passing through to committee stage.

Up until now, the Government has been reluctant to seek to block Bills, in part because of its minority status. Senior officials and Ministers, however, say that this approach is likely to be toughened in the future.