Programme for Government must bring about real change - Ó Caoláin
Commenting on the news that Fianna
Fáil and the Green Party have agreed to participate in a cross-party
Government, Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said that a new
Programme for Government must bring about real change. He said Sinn Féin
would decide on how it would vote in the Dáil on Thursday on the basis of
the Programme for Government presenting. He stated:
“We
are now faced with a cross-party Government including parties as diverse as
the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats, as well as Independents.
Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern has opted for a combination which he hopes
will guarantee his administration maximum stability. He hopes that the
defection of either the Greens or Independents at any stage during the 30th
Dáil will not result in the fall of his administration.
“It
is for the members of the Green Party to judge whether they are being taken
on board as an insurance policy by Fianna Fáil or whether they have made an
agreement that represents progress. Sinn Féin will decide our position in
the vote for Taoiseach on the basis of the Programme for Government which is
presented.
“Writing in the Sunday Independent last
weekend, Bertie Ahern stated that the Greens have ‘clear positions on
transport, health and education’ that are ‘not incompatible with those of
Fianna Fáil’. Taking the health issue alone, the Programme for Government
would run totally contrary to the Green position if it does not scrap the
disgraceful and totally discredited private for-profit hospital co-location
scheme championed by Mary Harney. That will be a crucial test.”ENDS