GORMLEY REACTION:GREEN PARTY leader John Gormley said yesterday the instability caused by the Fianna Fáil leadership question was "the last thing that this country needs right now".
Asked whether he thought the affair in Fianna Fáil was damaging to the Government, he responded: “I think it leads to instability, that’s the last thing that this country needs right now.”
Mr Gormley – who pledged the Green Party’s continued support for the Government – said it was not a question of “ignoring the issues” but one of getting on “with the business of government in very difficult circumstances”.
“We have stated categorically that we are staying in Government for the national interest until such time as the Finance Bill has been passed. It is difficult in these circumstances, there is no question, but I think we would be totally criticised if we were going through such a stabilising period if we were to further add to that destabilisation,” he said.
Asked if he thought Brian Cowen should resign, he said that that was a matter for Fianna Fáil Ministers and party members and not the Greens.
He did, however, reiterate his concerns over the manner in which the recent scandal was handled. “We have concerns about the fact that these matters were not put into the public domain and that is a valid criticism and I said that directly to the Taoiseach.”
Mr Gormley refused to be drawn on whether he would support a new Fianna Fáil leader should Brian Cowen go. “You’re talking about a hypothetical situation. We don’t know what the current situation is.”
He said his understanding was that the Taoiseach was continuing on as leader of Fianna Fáil, that he was taking soundings and that was as far as it went.
In relation to the allegation made against the Taoiseach with regards to the former head of the NTMA, Dr Michael Somers, Mr Gormley said, “I think it has been rebutted fairly categorically by Mr Somers and so therefore in relation to those fairly serious allegations I don’t have an answer”.