Green deputy leader Mary White has defended her party’s role in Government saying they will continue to do business in a “clean professional way holding to high standards”.
Ms White was speaking after Trevor Sargent resigned his position as Minister of State with responsibility for Food yesterday. The former party leader resigned after admitting to unlawfully contacting a garda about a case involving a constituent.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland today Ms White said Mr Sargent acted "honourably" in resigning quickly.
“He didn’t have to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the chamber, there wasn’t an unseemly debate, there wasn’t heckling and gesticulating and cat calls, he stood up, gave his resignation speech and walked out of the chamber," she said.
She admitted that although the incident is “very painful” for the junior coalition partner the party would not be “found wanting for ethics”.
“We want to return to what we do best the business and challenges of facing the Irish people and Trevor Sargent specifically resigned promptly to ensure we could return to that urgent business that we face.”
She denied Mr Sargent’s resignation had brought politics into disrepute and blamed “grubby rezonings” and “grubby amounts of corporate donations that have swelled the coffers of other political parties”.
“We don’t take corporate donations, we don’t do dodgy rezonings, we try to play our politics fair with a straight bat and that’s what we will continue to do,” she added.
Ms White refused to be drawn on claims by the Opposition that Mr Sargent's letter was leaked by Fianna Fáil TDs angry over the resignation of Willie O'Dea as Minister for Defence.
"We can have all the conjecture and innuendo and people saying this, that and the other," she said. "But we simply don't know how that letter came into the public domain, but what we do know is Trevor Sargent is no longer a minister at the Department of Food and Horticulture and we have to face that fact.
"But Trevor is a valued member of our parliamentary party and we have put this setback behind us now and get on with the business of Government, and that's what we are trying to do in very difficult economic times."
Party colleague Senator Dan Boyle, who helped bring about Mr O’Dea’s resignation last week through Twitter, returned to his favourite platform today by tweeting: “Here's hoping that nothing happens today.”
Last night Taoiseach Brian Cowen said Opposition claims that leaks about Mr Sargent had come from Fianna Fáil were “beneath contempt” and “without foundation”.
Green Party leader John Gormley said he was greatly saddened by Mr Sargent’s decision to resign, while Mr Cowen said he had accepted Mr Sargent’s resignation “with the utmost regret in the circumstances”.
Opposition parties suggested the leak that prompted the resignation came from a Government source.
However, Mr Gormley said he was not "jumping to conclusions" as he did not have all the facts. “It isn’t always best to make comments when you’re in such an emotional state, and that’s why we want to refrain from speculation at this stage. We’re pretty shell-shocked at the moment. Under those circumstances, I don’t want to give any hostages to fortune.”
Government sources said Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern was “livid” at the accusations being made by Labour leader Eamon Gilmore and the Fine Gael spokesman on justice, Charlie Flanagan, insinuating he had some involvement in a leak.
Mr Ahern said the first he knew of the affair was when he heard it on the radio news at 1pm yesterday.
In a Dáil speech yesterday evening Mr Sargent said that while his actions did not constitute a criminal offence, his communication could be deemed not lawful. “In this regard, I accept I made an error of judgment. Accordingly I hereby tender my resignation forthwith as Minister of State for Food and Horticulture.”
He said a victim of an assault had come to him in 2008 to voice his frustration at the slow progress of a case. The constituent alleged he had been head-butted when he reported vandalism to parents of a child he had seen trying to remove a road sign in their housing estate.
“My intention was to ensure the Garda were aware I had received a representation from a victim in an alleged assault and that the full preparation of the case would benefit from witnesses not yet interviewed being interviewed before proceeding further. The victim was afraid for his safety, meanwhile,” said Mr Sargent.
In his letter to the garda investigating the case in 2008 the TD expressed his shock that the constituent, Dominic McGowan, was being charged with an offence rather than being called as a witness in the case and he added: “It is, I believe, wholly inappropriate to proceed with this summons at this point.”
Mr McGowan was later convicted of threatening and abusive behaviour and fined €500. His assailant was sentenced to four months for the assault but is appealing.