Westminister visit:The Government has rejected allegations that the Taoiseach is using his invitation to address the Joint Houses of Parliament in Westminster on May 15th as an advantage in the general election campaign.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said yesterday he did not like to see the peace process "being manipulated for partisan electoral advantage" while the party's frontbench spokesman, Ruairi Quinn, called for the date of the address to be changed, claiming the timing was a "serious error of judgment" as the date coincided with the election campaign.
Mr Quinn said while the contribution made by Mr Ahern and British prime minister Tony Blair to the peace process in Northern Ireland must be acknowledged, the timing of the address during a general election is wrong.
"It may well be that when the invitation was being considered, those on the British side did not realise that the date would coincide with a crucial election. I am sure that they would not have wanted to leave themselves open to the claim that such an event might have an impact on the internal political situation in this country."
Mr Quinn said foreign leaders, including Mr Blair, have addressed joint sessions of the Oireachtas, but it is inconceivable that such an invitation would be issued to give such an address while they were engaged in a domestic election campaign.
Mr Rabbitte said in an RTÉ Radio One interview it was "a bit odd" that when everyone knew there would be an election in May for the address to take place then. But he added: "Party leaders and party strategists play for advantage and that's fair enough. I have no difficulty with that."
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern accused Mr Rabbitte of taking a "mealy-mouthed approach". In relation to the Westminster visit, Mr Ahern said it was instigated by the British.