Green briefing:The Greens attempted to position themselves yesterday to join the alternative coalition of Fine Gael and Labour after the election but the party leader continued to rule out any form of pre-election pact.
Setting out the basic policies the Green Party would insist on before joining any government, Trevor Sargent said there would be no deal if Enda Kenny only offered "Fianna Fáil-lite" as an alternative.
He insisted that plans for tax cuts would have to be dropped if it meant there would not be enough money to put an extra €1 billion a year into education.
"The people are telling us that they don't want a Fianna Fáil government back. This is clear from what we're hearing at the doors and it is clear from recent polls. The numbers don't stack up - the people want change.
"We can see no way in which there would be sufficient numbers for a Fianna Fáil-Green government and it is difficult to imagine that negotiations between the parties would succeed. In any event Fianna Fáil would have their preferred option of doing a deal with Labour open to them.
"It is clear that there is going to be a change of government. The Green Party has always said that we're ready for government. However, we cannot do a deal if Enda Kenny is only offering us 'Fianna Fáil-lite'," Mr Sargent said.
His party wanted to participate in an alternative government and wanted to make a deal. He said the key elements in any deal for the Greens would involve tackling climate change; cleaning up politics and providing top-class education for all children.
"We will build on the success of Luas and make public transport work. We will insulate every home in this country against rising fuel prices, saving you money. We will make energy conservation and renewable generation happen," he said.
Mr Sargent also said that the Greens would clean up politics and provide proper housing. "To do that we need proper planning and a democratic system that is free from potential corruption. We will reform local government funding and give your local council the powers they need."
He said the third deal breaker for the Greens was investment in education. "If you want to get the basic State services right such as education, you can't promise cuts in income tax, yet that is the untenable position of other parties. We will invest €1 billion extra in education in each of the five years of the next government. We have set out clearly where we will spend it and where the money will come from."
Mr Sargent said that public services like education would be the priority in post-election talks about entering government.