When will the Green Party stop acting like a bunch of spineless cretins?

[daithi81]

Fianna Fail are simply walking all over them and they are taking it, right up the arse.

It's a pathetic sight to see.

[jd26]

Their behaviour yesterday of not turning up to vote on a criminal justice bill that they knew would be passed anyway was pretty shameful.

If they really felt strongly about it, they could have insisted on sunset clauses on the controversial points. Instead, we got political showmanship.

[daithi81]

Exactly. I hope they get absolutely decimated over the next two years. Just like the PD's did.

I'm ashamed to say I voted them No.1 in the last general election.

Never again (if they survive).

[Cliff Barnes]

Useless quango under a "Green" moniker environmental flag nonsense.


Green P.D's about to go under.

[jd26]

I've mixed feelings on that.

I do think we need an environmental party represented in the Dail as it is a voice that is needed to be heard.

However, because of their spinelessness over their core issues, I wonder what good they are actually doing.

[Cliff Barnes]

I've mixed feelings on that.

I do think we need an environmental party represented in the Dail as it is a voice that is needed to be heard.

However, because of their spinelessness over their core issues, I wonder what good they are actually doing.

A Green party currently in cahoots with the despised Fianna Fail actually cutting public transport and essential transport infrastructure.

As if they are going to pull the plug anyway and face the people.

Posturing at the moment really by the Greens.

[daithi81]

I've mixed feelings on that.

I do think we need an environmental party represented in the Dail as it is a voice that is needed to be heard.

However, because of their spinelessness over their core issues, I wonder what good they are actually doing.

If the Greens went under, I'd imagine a more virtuous environmental party, minus the cronies, would be formed.

[quincytwo]

Read the Irish Times report on proceedings.

Seanad passes gangs Bill as Greens abstain from vote
MARIE O'HALLORANThe Green Party last night voted against the Government for the first time since the administration was formed in 2007, when its two Senators rejected a guillotining of the final stage of the controversial Criminal Justice Amendment Bill.

Senators Dan Boyle and Deirdre de Burca also abstained in the final vote when the Bill was passed by 35 votes to 7, with the support of Fine Gael. The Greens voted against the Government motion to take the report or final stage last night rather than allowing extra time today but it was accepted by 24 to 20 votes.

Mr Boyle, the party chairman, said afterwards that the Greens were unhappy with assurances given by Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern about how the review of the legislation would be conducted in 12 months time.

“We wanted the balance to be measured appropriately and wanted to avoid a situation that existed with previous legislation like the Prevention of Terrorism Act where these things went through automatically on the nod every 12 months.” The Bill provides for non-jury Special Criminal Court trials for criminal gangs and for the evidence of serving gardaí or former gardaí of any rank to give expert evidence as to the existence of such gangs.

Mr Boyle acknowledged that the Greens had an “ongoing difficulty” with Mr Ahern and justice legislation. “This is building for a long time. It has to do with a particular relationship. It has to do with how policy in a particular area is progressing and our ongoing discomfort with that.”

He said he did not know if Mr Ahern was being deliberately provocative but “the effect of his actions is not to properly recognise our concerns on this and other legislation and we feel we had to send a clear signal as to how we feel the quality of that relationship has to improve”.

He denied their vote was anything to do with the party’s conference on Saturday to deal with their approach to the Lisbon Treaty referendum and a review of the programme for government. A lot of the damage had “already been done” to the party through legislation such as the Defamation Bill, and on student loans. He said on the relationship with Fianna Fáil that “we can’t honestly say that that exists to a level that we’d like”.

He said they were looking for a “robust, quite stringent procedure of review”. He said they wanted a clear statement about how the review would take place because “it’s obviously a Bill that has serious connotations on whether rights are affected or not. How the justice committee would be involved and how there was confidence that it would be subject to constant questioning as to whether it compromised the rights of all citizens or not.”

Mr Boyle said they were looking for a stronger set of safeguards. He said the party leadership was aware of their move.

Fine Gael Seanad leader Frances Fitzgerald described the Green move as “a pathetic gesture from a discredited and directionless Green party”.

“If they are not going to support the Government why don’t they just pull out of government,” she added

[quincytwo]

Their behaviour yesterday of not turning up to vote on a criminal justice bill that they knew would be passed anyway was pretty shameful.

If they really felt strongly about it, they could have insisted on sunset clauses on the controversial points. Instead, we got political showmanship.

You hav e regularily criticised me for being unfair to politicians like Boyle !
Congratulations on a fine job by one of your pet politicians.

[Actin The Sham]

Their behaviour yesterday of not turning up to vote on a criminal justice bill that they knew would be passed anyway was pretty shameful.

If they really felt strongly about it, they could have insisted on sunset clauses on the controversial points. Instead, we got political showmanship.

Dan Boyle on Neil Prendeville justifying his position on this right now.

96fm.

[jd26]

You couldn't make some of this stuff up. Apparently FF are gobshites. Well, I guess we knew that.

Cuffe blows lid on tensions with FF

By Aine Kerr

Thursday July 16 2009

THE polar-opposite views of the Green Party and the Justice Minister have prompted major tension and frustration for over eight months, it emerged last night.

Making public the simmering disagreement between the coalition partners, Green Party backbencher Ciaran Cuffe yesterday claimed Fianna Fail were "gobs****s". "I still think they're gobs****s I'm dealing with across the table. I still think they don't understand the issues. I still think they have moved very little," he said.

With the Greens championing the causes of the Equality Authority, the rights of criminals, the rights of gay couples, they have found a conservative, uncompromising Justice Minister Dermot Ahern standing in their way. The area of justice is the policy area where the Greens have experienced the "most difficulties" since entering Government, Senator Dan Boyle claimed yesterday.

"I think it has to do with the approach taken and our input -- how it's been involved in the process and whether we feel our concerns have been sufficiently addressed not just in this but in other policy areas," he said.

"It has to do with how policy is being created. How it is being enunciated. How Green Party policy is being received into that. There is a particular difficulty in the justice area in that it hasn't been to the extent that it exists in other areas."

Contradicted

Last night, sources said tensions erupted last November when Mr Ahern slashed the funding of the Equality Authority by 43pc. After months of talks, party leader John Gormley said in April he had succeeded in his "mission" of reversing the changes, only for Mr Ahern to publicly contradict him.

The introduction of a new crime of blasphemous libel, the introduction of the civil partnership bill which stopped short of recognising gay marriage and the introduction of tough new gangland legislation prompted a series of alternative proposals from the Greens which were not adopted. "A lot of it is a question of attitude. We felt our demands were very reasonable, in fact bordering on the modest," one source said.

In a 'Hot Press' interview to be published today, Mr Cuffe claimed Fianna Fail were "gobs****s" and the Greens needed to be "more strident about what our vision is". He said he should have publicly disagreed with Mr Ahern when he claimed the civil partnership legislation in "no way" represented a step towards gay marriage. "Maybe, there does need to be a bit more creative tension there. But I suppose the nature of the place in here is that you move from one crisis to another," he said.

[daithi81]

Great. So leave the government.

[quincytwo]

You couldn't make some of this stuff up. Apparently FF are gobshites. Well, I guess we knew that.

Well well the kettle telling the pot that its bottom is black !
You are the person who tells me I am unfair for making perfectly legitimate criticism of FF's M McGrath, who incidentally you called a ' Cretin', and now you are saying FF are ' gobshites'.

Consistency ?

[daithi81]

Well well the kettle telling the pot that its bottom is black !
You are the person who tells me I am unfair for making perfectly legitimate criticism of FF's M McGrath, who incidentally you called a ' Cretin', and now you are saying FF are ' gobshites'.

Consistency ?

.

[jd26]

Well well the kettle telling the pot that its bottom is black !
You are the person who tells me I am unfair for making perfectly legitimate criticism of FF's M McGrath, who incidentally you called a ' Cretin', and now you are saying FF are ' gobshites'.

Consistency ?

I'd like to think there was some tinge of humour detectable in my post.

I would never seriously characterise everyone in FF as gobshites. They probably have a higher gobshite quotient than most other parties, but they also contain a number of honest politicians who are trying to do their best for their local communities.

Even locally, I could probably name a gobshite in every one of the main political parties.

[quincytwo]

I'd like to think there was some tinge of humour detectable in my post.

I would never seriously characterise everyone in FF as gobshites. They probably have a higher gobshite quotient than most other parties, but they also contain a number of honest politicians who are trying to do their best for their local communities.

Even locally, I could probably name a gobshite in every one of the main political parties.

Translation : I want to sound like a real ' tough guy', but I am furiously backpeddling now in case someone challenges me !

Other posters apparently are not allowed to insert tinges of humour - people like me only ' Hate'.

[daithi81]

Greens can't rule out withdrawal from Government

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/ireland/greens-cant-rule-out-withdrawal-from-government-419123.html

[quincytwo]

The withdrawal method doesnt work after you have been screwed and ' knocked up'.