Green Party leader Trevor Sargent has criticised remarks made by Tanaiste Michael McDowell about the environment.
Following an opinion poll in Friday's Irish Times- showing a 2 per cent fall in support for the PD's rating and a doubling in support for the Greens - Mr McDowell said: "There's a vague notion out there that somehow it is moral to be concerned about the environment but it's not moral to be concerned about economic success and prosperity".
"If we falter economically and if economic growth goes down in Ireland with our increasing population, we will have mass unemployment. We've had it before. We've had emigration, we've had recession and we certainly don't want to go back there again," he said.
But Mr Sargent today claimed Mr McDowell had "lost the plot if he thinks that if you're looking after the environment, you're not looking after the economy".
Speaking at a press briefing on urban planning this afternoon, he said the Government already faces a crippling multi-million euro bill for failing to meet its Kyoto targets on greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile PD transport spokesman Tom Morrissey today described the Greens' policies on motorways as 'crazy and anti-progress.'
"The Greens want to scrap a huge portion of our ambitious road building programme. That's crazy, and it's anti-progress.We understand the frustration faced by motorists, be they commuters, business people or shoppers. That's why we want to keep traffic flowing through our villages, towns and cities in an increasingly efficient and safe way," he said.
PA