THE GOVERNMENT has ordered a near-full attendance of TDs in the Dáil tonight to vote down a Fine Gael move to force it to hold byelections in Dublin South and Dublin Central. Due to Dáil rules, the Fine Gael proposal, if it succeeded, would mean that the byelections would have to take place before June 5th, the date for the local and European elections.
However, Fine Gael, faced with some unhappiness from the Labour Party, last night said that its Dáil tactic was designed “to push the issue up the agenda, rather than to be won”.
Under Dáil rules, a writ for a byelection can be voted on by the Dáil no later than 18 days before it is held and no earlier than 25 days, meaning that the Government has until May 6th to decide its hand.
So far, it appears it will not postpone the Dublin Central fight until October, but it is bound by a Dáil commitment given in February to hold Dublin South on June 5th.
Until recently, it was argued that Fianna Fáil would decide that both byelections – which it is likely to lose – should be held on June 5th “to get all the bad news out in one day”, in the words of one TD.
However, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern opposes holding the Central election – caused by the death in January of Independent TD Tony Gregory – until October.
Although a number of Fine Gael TDs are attending Council of Europe meetings this week, Government chief whip Pat Carey is taking few chances. Last week, the Government won by three votes a motion condemning the abolition of the Christmas social welfare bonus. Just one Minister, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, who is leading a business trip to the Middle East, will be away, while at least one FF TD has been ordered to stay at home from a Strasbourg meeting.
While the motion, which will be debated for just 30 minutes, will be lost barring accidents, the decision to put it down has infuriated Labour, which is the favourite to win the Dublin South race.
The move would be “a serious tactical mistake that could play into the hands of the Government”, said Labour’s Ruairí Quinn, who is director of elections for Senator Alex White in the constituency. “If the motion moving the writ is passed this week and assuming that it would take two days for the clerk to issue the writ, it would mean that the byelections would have to be held between May 22nd and June 1st.
“I fear that if the motion is moved this week, the Government will vote it down on the grounds that the timing would not allow the byelections to take place on June 5th. Having done so, it may then announce that the byelections are being postponed until some time later in the year. With the Dáil having decided the matter, it would then require the specific consent of the Ceann Comhairle to have the matter reopened within six months.
“June 5th is the logical day for these byelections,” Mr Quinn added, “but the premature moving of the writ will . . . play into the hand of Fianna Fáil and the Greens.”