FF unrest with Cowen exaggerated, says Gormley

GREEN PARTY leader John Gormley has said the extent of internal Fianna Fáil discontent with Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s leadership in the aftermath of the Cabinet reshuffle has been exaggerated.

Mr Gormley said “comment and speculation and pressure” in yesterday’s newspapers was unhelpful. “Any distraction is not helpful but I fear as well that it could be being exaggerated. Clearly in the context of a reshuffle you will get a certain amount of discontent and disappointment. People who sought preferment and didn’t get it will give expression to that,” he said.

“But that usually lasts a number of days and then it’s over with, and I hope on this occasion it will be over as well and we can get on with the business of Government.”

Mr Gormley was speaking at the conclusion of his party’s convention in Waterford, which was attended by about 400 delegates debating some 30 motions.

Green Party members agreed the Oireachtas register of TDs’ and Senators’ interests should be extended to include liabilities as well as assets, while a proposal to suspend the development of Metro North and reinvest the money in bus services was rejected. Delegates voted in favour of a calling on Government to recognise Travellers as an ethnic group.

A warm reception was given to the party’s two new Ministers of State – Mary White, Minister of State for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and Ciarán Cuffe, Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Mr Gormley described the controversy of the internal rotation agreement, now abandoned – which would have seen him pass his Cabinet position as Minister for the Environment to Mr Cuffe – as a “closed chapter”.

He also described the Greens as “the most resilient small party in the history of the State”.

Asked about the agreement, Senator Dan Boyle said: “Can you not say that you were at a convention this week where a party was very unified and the party members expressed very little discontent and a great deal of support for the party leadership?”

Meanwhile, the resignation from the party of Wicklow town councillor Pat Kavanagh was announced. Mr Gormley said her resignation had “been on the cards” for quite some time.

In his televised address to the convention on Saturday night, Mr Gormley singled out Fine Gael councillors for criticism. “Fine Gael is still receiving contributions from the developers,” he said. He said it was time Enda Kenny “took these guys to task”.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan defended the Government’s policy on rescuing Anglo Irish Bank when he addressed the conference on Saturday.

Yesterday Mr Ryan said the banks “were always going to require additional capital, and if that requires State capital rather than private capital I think that’s absolutely fine. I think that that will work,” he said.

Green delegates voted overwhelmingly in favour of setting a deadline of early next year to introduce a ban on corporate donations to political parties. A motion calling for the party to help eliminate the requirement for primary school teachers to teach religion was also passed.