Government formation: Emissions cut ‘a first step’ for talks, Eamon Ryan says
A commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7% a year is a “basic first step” if any deal is to be agreed on forming a government, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has confirmed.
His insistence will force both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to address the demand in their response this week to 17 Green Party wishes for a programme for government.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin are expected to jointly write back to Mr Ryan with their party responses before face-to-face talks between all three leaders.
If that meeting goes well, both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil hope programme for government talks could formally begin with the Greens potentially the following week.
But while Mr Ryan last week said none of his party’s 17 demands was “red line”, he shifted position and, after public comments from other party TDs, insisted an agreed specific 7% cut to carbon emissions was a requisite or pre-condition to coalition formation talks.
Speaking on RTÉ’s , Mr Ryan said: “That has to be clear from the start. We have to have that baseline understanding. It will be good for the country, there are opportunities in it, particularly in the economic policies.
That’s where a lot of the money is, that’s where a lot of European policy is going to steer us towards... That is a basic first step.
Rewetting bogs, ramping up windpower sources, and a clampdown on big carbon- producing industries are some of the key ambitions of the Greens.
Mr Martin said at the weekend that the country could get 30% of people working remotely and that this would have a dramatic impact on not only congestion but air pollution and greenhouse gases.
Independent TD Denis Naughten, while critical of Green proposals and also seeking to form a government deal with colleagues and the two big parties, agreed that there is a need to design new structures so people can work locally and from home, as part of “balanced regional development”.
Fine Gael sources confirmed that, if there is progress and agreement between all three leaders this week, talks could move to more formal discussions on a potential coalition programme by next week.
Fianna Fáil finance spokesman Michael McGrath warned today of government negotiations dragging on.
He said that there would need to be fresh estimates for government spending by June, given the economic commitments made to fight Covid-19.
He also said that, given the inability of the parliament to pass laws, the country could be left exposed.
“The issues are mounting for the new government to tackle and the sooner the better,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin has claimed that the government formation talks, from which it is excluded, are delaying any possibility of passing emergency legislation.
The party’s finance spokesman also accused Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael of playing “playground politics” by not talking to Sinn Féin.
But Mr McGrath said Fianna Fáil did not see sufficient common ground with Sinn Féin when it came to drafting a programme for government.
