The Green Party has been accused by Labour leader Eamon Gilmore of responsibility for a significant shift in the political culture of the State because of what he termed "an extraordinary abdication of responsibility" on the issue of standards in public office.
In a hard-hitting statement the Labour leader said the events of the past few days, from the evidence given at the Mahon tribunal to instability in the Dáil, had raised the spectre of Charles Haughey's "GUBU" period in the early 1980s.
"The week just gone has represented the worst start to a parliamentary term by any new Government, probably since the days of the Haughey "GUBU" administration in the early 1980s," Mr Gilmore said.
He added that within the past week there had been an opinion poll showing that only one-third of the public believed evidence given on oath by the Taoiseach at a tribunal of inquiry established by the Oireachtas; the first motion of no confidence in a taoiseach tabled in 13 years; and a breakdown in discipline on the Government backbenches which meant that, despite having an overall majority of 13, the Taoiseach had survived the confidence vote by a margin of just five, while a single vote averted defeat for the Government on the Shannon issue.
Another opinion poll showed a huge majority opposed to the Government-backed Aer Lingus decision to scrap the Shannon-Heathrow service, while the defeated candidate for the leadership of the Green Party had called for the resignation of the Taoiseach. "This week also marked a significant shift in our political culture," the Labour leader said.
"From 1989, when Fianna Fáil first dropped its 'core value' opposition to coalition, the junior partner in government has always acted as a guarantor of good conduct on the part of the government. The Labour Party did it with Fianna Fáil in 1994. The Progressive Democrats did it at various times, especially in the earlier days of the party.
"The Green Party is the first party to go into coalition and to say that they will accept no responsibility for anything that the Government and its members do, and that they will take no steps to demand acceptable minimum standards from Fianna Fáil.
"The 'nothing to do with us' approach marks an extraordinary abdication of responsibility on the part of a party that was particularly vocal in putting the case for high standards by office holders when it was in opposition," he said.
Mr Gilmore added that despite their public protestations of fealty and loyally trooping through the lobbies on Wednesday night, there was deep discomfort among some Ministers and TDs about what has emerged to date at the Mahon tribunal surrounding the Taoiseach's finances and much apprehension about what was yet to come.
"Neither do I believe that the fawning approach adopted by Green Party members during the week accurately reflects the views of their supporters," he said.
The Government whip's office would not disclose yesterday which of the 20 missing Coalition TDs had pairs. The Taoiseach did not have a pair and neither did most of the others who were absent for the vote, although the Government chief whip Tom Kitt insisted that with the exception of Cork East TD, Ned O'Keeffe, they all had permission for their absence.
Ministers abroad on Government business were paired by Fine Gael. The Green TD, Mary White, did a swap with party junior Minister, Trevor Sargent, who had been paired. He voted in her place so that she could attend the ploughing championships, according to a party spokesman.
The full list of absentees were Cabinet members Bertie Ahern, Mary Coughlan, Martin Cullen, Mary Hanafin, Micheál Martin and Séamus Brennan and junior Ministers Míchael Kitt, John McGuinness, Michael Ahern, Dick Roche and John Browne. Most Ministers were paired.
Fianna Fáil TDs absent were Ned O'Keeffe, Joe Behan, Sean Fleming, Jim McDaid, John Maloney, Sean Power and Barry Andrews. Mary White and Independent Jackie Healy-Rae were also absent.
