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As members of the Green Party, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil debate the merits of the new programme for government, the leaders of the Greens arguably have the toughest task getting the deal over the line, with two-thirds of the party’s membership needed to carry the proposal.
As the battle for the hearts and minds of the Irish green movement begins, we invited two representatives with opposing views to state their case. RISE TD for Dublin South-West, Paul Murphy has written a letter to Green Party members asking them to reject the deal, while here, Green MEP Ciarán Cuffe says this is an armistice moment that must be grasped:
WHAT CAN YOU actually achieve in politics? For an ideologically-driven party like the Greens, it is a question we consider every day. Sure, we all want to save the planet, and bring about a just transition, but what changes can you actually achieve within the constraints of Government? Opposition is easy, but Government is tough, particularly for smaller parties like ourselves.
Every vote, every amendment, and every decision is a series of compromises. The draft programme for government ‘Our Shared Future’ reflects those choices. However, from a Green party perspective, there is a lot to like.
A commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% over the coming decade would be a huge achievement, and although it still would not align with what climate science dictates, it would show the world what can be done. A commitment to retrofitting 500,000 homes to a B2 energy rating by 2030 would be extraordinary.
Timing is everything and with the arrival of Covid-19, it’s obvious now that these are not normal times. As the pandemic struck, the European Investment Bank announced that they would end financing for fossil fuel energy projects from the end of next year.
A new departure for a new normal
Some of the language in the draft programme is transformational: ending Direct Provision; providing cost rental housing; and spending €360m a year on walking and cycling. The adoption of these measures would be timely, but other measures such as the provision of free contraception for women aged 17-25, and ‘baby boxes’ to all new parents underscores the role of the state in taking care of its citizens.
A lesson from the Covid-19 crisis is that the State can and should assist its people in providing services that are needed. A focus on public health, public transport, and public housing is required as we move to a new normal dictated by these extraordinary times.
None of this will happen overnight. There are of course areas where we didn’t succeed in negotiations, but that is inevitable given the Green Party’s representation in the Dáil. There’s a lot of commitments to reviews rather than actions, but that can be the start of effecting change.
We are still in mid-crisis, and rebooting our economy within the health constraints of the pandemic will be hugely challenging. If our membership decides that we should enter Government (and the bar is set high at two-thirds support of our voting membership) there will be difficult calls to make in the coming months and years.
However, if we sit at the cabinet table we have a voice and take part in the decision-making process. I accept that if you’re in opposition you can provoke debate, and on occasion bring about change.
No time to ‘hurl from the ditch’
With interest rates the lowest in living memory, now is the time to borrow to invest in a low-carbon future. Bord na Móna announced on Tuesday that it will suspend peat harvesting activities and prioritise peat rehabilitation. Meanwhile, the EU has trebled its funding for a ‘Just Transition’ in coal and peat extraction regions. That means more green jobs.
This is an armistice moment that must be grasped. These opportunities happen at best once a decade. When the planet is burning, it is not a time to argue over the colour of the fire engine.
We can seize the opportunity of the European Green Deal, announced by the Commission last year. It lays out plans to make Europe the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050. We need to embrace this opportunity for low-carbon employment, or we can wait for a progressive political alliance that may never emerge.
As an MEP I can see that the language of politics is changing: the circular economy is now centre-stage; zero pollution and low-carbon solutions permeate our discussions, and the Sustainable Development Goals inform our debates.
There is a golden opportunity here to marry climate action with social justice, and while the text of the programme isn’t perfect, it allows us to take action on issues that we have campaigned on for years. There are commitments to more protection for renters; to enacting hate crime legislation; and a new National Action Plan Against Racism. Such measures can bring about a fairer Ireland.
There is an extraordinary opportunity to be seized now in 2020, where the Green Party can make real the ideas that we believe in, and take responsibility for changing the world. We should grasp this moment and enter government.
In the words of Barack Obama’s former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel: “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
Ciarán Cuffe is a Green Party MEP for Dublin. You can read the full programme for government here.
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There’s an extraordinary opportunity for them to shove in the boot for taxes. Just like they did the last time.
@Patrick Agnew: blueshirts on bikes
@We Love Katamari: Absolutely!
@Patrick Agnew: careerists like all the others. All politicians are the same. Only in it for themselves. No principles. I dont know how they get elected. They certainly don’t represent the people.
@Ciaran O’Mara: but they do. They’re not grown in a test tube. They represent us exactly. If our politicians are self serving careerists – what does it say about us?
We get the government we deserve
@Ciaran O’Mara: in a true democracy, people get the politicians they deserve…
An extraordinary opportunity for the party top brass to make off like bandits, you mean. Hopefully the ordinary grassroots members cop onto the clause in the PFG whereby eco measures can be ‘backloaded’ to 5 years from now i.e. there’s no commitment from either FF or FG to implement some of the environmental measures agreed for the ENTIRE maximum lifetime of the next government.
In other words, you’re being shafted.
(probably a bit harsh. There are some decent people at the top of the party. There’s also Eamon Ryan, who doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of hardship)
@The Risen: I would agree with yourself and Neasa Hourigan about the backloading, but infrastructural investments, the way they are currently delivered are carbon intensive (not that they have to be) but they are needed to get from A to B. If people actually cared and got behind these policies and were critical of them, then FFG would be pressured into improving them and delivering them sooner. But its all begrudgery and devision every time I read comments here. People should really unite and protest like they did with water charges to improve this PfG.
@The Risen: Crikey, Is that poor old Padraig in your avatar? You sound like an unhappy PD…
I dread the Greens in government carbon taxes and having to cycle to the doctor in the pouring rain
@Richard Russell: copy and paste from the previous article. Obviously a Bot.
@Shazam37: glad to see you are paying attention I have yet to see Eamon Ryan cycling in the pouring rain with the messages hanging from the handlebars
@Richard Russell: Probably because neither he, nor any Green Party TD, is advocating banning cars and cycling everywhere. Try engage your brain.
@Richard Russell: and how hard have you looked?
Will the firefighters turn up on bicycles ?.
I didn’t vote for any of them three parties and now it looks like we’re going to get stuck with them for years. Kinda makes you think it’s not worth voting at all.
@aidan mccormack: d
@aidan mccormack: did you think your vote alone would determine the outcome of the election?
@aidan mccormack: I hope you are taking the p1ss with that comment?!
@aidan mccormack: but those three parties got 51% of the vote.
You need to get that the next time to get your way.
Your party benefited hugely from transfers from left and centre left leaning parties. You’re about to prop up a centre right leaning government. You’ve been promised the earth by a guy whose only concern is to be Taoiseach and another guy who only recently said FG would not be part of the next government. Do you actually trust them to fulfill their promises to you?
None of this will happen in the lifetime of the government
I’m actually SICK that I gave the green candidate a high preference in the last election. They relied on transfers so likely benefited from my vote. I didn’t do so for them to keep FG in government after agreeing to green measures being deferred for 5 years
Are the Green Party just Fine Gaelers who like gardening and knitting.
A FFG coalition means crippling austerity.,
In 2007 the greens backed a politician who had a special association with property developers and lost a generation of voters.
In 2020 the greens will back a politician who had a special association with property developers.
Plus ca change………
An opportunity that FG unfortunately don’t appear willing to play ball with after multiple TDs have lined up to label the greens “nutters, “destructive to rural Ireland” and just recently Leo and Simon outright told party members they didn’t intend to uphold the time frame for carbon emissions outlined in the programme for government.
I’m not sure how any Green party member could possibly think they’re entering that arrangement in good faith. It unfortunately just appears like an opportunity to make up the numbers and get a few ministerial pensions rather than bringing real change.
Those voters who were so green voting for Greens expecting Government change were conned.
@MollyMsalone: The greens relied on transfers from left leaning voters to get a lot of their elected TDs over the line. That’s about to vanish for good.
@Diarmuid: They came back stronger from their last ruinous run in government but I hope this time voters have learned.
@MollyMsalone: They won’t have Greta Thunberg doing the heavy lifting for them next time
@The Risen: agree with you 100%
Power grab
@Sinéad O’Brien: What’s the point in being in politics if you don’t have the power to do anything?
I DID NOT VOTE FOR THOSE GREEN LUNATICS.
@Ian Breathnach: I did. Isn’t democracy great?
@Dave Byrne: so did I
@Dave Byrne: They got a tick from me because I’m anyone-but-FFFG so they can kiss the likes of me goodbye in future elections.
“When the planet is burning, it is not a time to argue over the colour of the fire engine.”
When people are homeless, it is not a time to join with the landlords and property speculators.
@Bramley Hawthorne: Referendum on Housing would win lots of support for the Greens … FF buried the Kenny Report 1974 … FG … landlord class … no solutions there.
8pc payrise for those who tow the line… Still a corrupt little kip
Borrow to invest in a green future?! If I’m paying off debt it better be for public housing to lower the cost of housing for my children and grandchildren. I already use public transport, unlike most D4s who voted green.
I think FFG will direct their attention to the green agenda as a matter of priority, otherwise Eamon will get gerta out of whatever dungeon he has her sedated, wipe the froth from her mouth and set her mehole and lieo.
@Eugene Conroy: What drivel is this mate?
A lot of these Greens look like they could do with eating a few good hot dinners.
to free the weed ?
A warning to green party members do vote NO for the greenparty deal. Here is why Catherine and the negotiating team should have realised that for fighting hard you will never be in a better position as when you where negotiating a deal for the government talks. They are the biggest disappointment for me. I tought they had much more negotiation skills. A complete U turn on fur farming and animal wellfare. goahead with greyhound and horse racing grants no deal for micro solar or wind . You and the greenparty have lost all confidence off ban the bloodsport and many more people I Can only vote NO I hope that more members will reject your deal.
Hans Stofberg
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