Green TDs pledge to put things right during recess

THE new Government has not had an ideal start, the Children’s Minister has said, urging that his Green colleagues need to work on improving communication within the party.

On Thursday, two Green TDs, Neasa Hourigan and Joe O’Brien, failed to back the Government’s position on a bill relating to evictions and rent freezes.

Dáil colleague TD Roderic O’Gorman said he has been assured by them that they will not vote against the Government again.

‘We need a united Government to deliver on the Programme for Government and that programme was ratified by our party members.

‘Seventy-six per cent in favour of it and there is a lot of really good things in it that our members support and I support, while there is stuff that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael members would find difficult,’ he said.

‘There is stuff that my party members and I find difficult, but our party membership gave us a mandate to enter that coalition government.

‘We have to support the Programme for Government and that means supporting the legislation that is provided.

‘I know in the last number of weeks we have had a Government that was formed in the middle of a pandemic.

‘I know that the Government has had to have a lot to deal with this week, and I know that is part of the reason why we have had these breakdowns in communication internally within the party and we have to do much more to address that,’ he told Newstalk radio’s On The Record show.

‘Going forward, I think it is absolutely essential that the entire Green Party, and indeed all parties, are supportive of the Government.’

On Saturday, Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar said the new Government got off to a ‘rocky start’ and made ‘unforced errors’.

Mr O’Gorman said some of the Government’s mistakes have overshadowed its achievements.

‘No, it hasn’t been an ideal start and the Government has made some mistakes.

‘But I think where we have made mistakes, we have rectified them and while there have been mistakes there have been great successes – in particular with the success of the July stimulus plan,’ he said.

Mr O’Gorman said the Green Party will use the summer recess to work on the party’s internal communication.

He added: ‘We need to ensure our parliamentary party are better functioning and fully prepared to engage with legislation, engage with our backbenches, members and TDs.’

Separately, Mr O’Gorman said he is committed to ending the Direct Provision system.

Asylum seekers staying at a DP centre in the Skellig Star hotel in Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry are to be moved. A number of them went on hunger strike saying they had been ‘traumatised’ from living in the centre.

He said that residents will be moved out by the end of the month.

‘There have been great successes’