Gormley challenged over 'old-fashioned bigotry'

SEANAD:RÓNÁN MULLEN (Ind) called on Minister for the Environment John Gormley to explain why he believed that Catholic Church leaders had no right to express views on political issues but leading figures in the Church of Ireland were to be engaged with on such matters.

A number of months ago, the Minister had taken issue when a Catholic prelate had communicated a viewpoint about the Civil Partnership Bill. He had said he thought the era when the church interfered in politics was over.

Mr Mullen said he wanted to know why Mr Gormley took a different view when a Church of Ireland leader was involved.

The retiring Archbishop of Dublin, John Neill, had recently accused the Green Party of having done a turnaround in relation to the use of Shannon by the US military and had spoken of this being an example of power tending to corrupt. The Minister had described the comment as ill-judged and as a grave insult.

“He went on to say, and this is what I wonder about, that as a party that probably has the highest proportion of Church of Ireland members in its ranks, that it was with particular disappointment that he had noted the comments of the archbishop.” Mr Mullen said he would ask the Minister if this was not just an example of old-fashioned bigotry.

Responding to Opposition demands for clarity on the date of the general election, Dan Boyle (Green), deputy Seanad leader, said his party believed they were being responsible by seeing through their programme of work.

In making their announcement, last November, about their future continuation in government, the Green Party had laid down a number of principles that needed to be adopted in the run-up to the election if proper stewardship was to be handed to an incoming government.

The earlier publication of the Finance Bill and its speedier progress through the Oireachtas was an indication of “the seriousness of our intent.

“I assure members who expressed concern about legislation which has been prepared over the last three years that it is well advanced. We hope and expect that it can be passed.”

If that did not happen for various reasons, he believed his party was right to stay in Government until certain events happened.

David Norris (Ind) said the country was in a calamitous situation. “I do not accept that a proper handing over of stewardship will take place.” He had to respectfully disagree with Senator Boyle.

“Were the Green Party to leave Government, the Taoiseach would have no choice but to call an election because the plug would effectively have been pulled on a Government that was in a state of collapse.”

Eugene Regan (FG) said that before the calling of the last election they had had to wait on the then taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, to have his outing in Washington and to address Congress.

“While the country is in a serious financial and economic crisis, we have to wait again for a Taoiseach to go to Washington.

“The issue with the calling of the next election is to get past the March 17th outing for the Taoiseach to go to Washington.”

Matters were too serious for that to be allowed to happen, said Mr Regan.