Tánaiste and Minister for Education Mary Coughlan will now accompany an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to the United States this week after Labour’s Ruarí Quinn agreed to pair off with her in her absence.
Ms Coughlan will now travel to the United States tomorrow ahead of the conference in St Louis at the end of this week.
She had earlier accused Fine Gael of embarrassing the country after she was forced to cancel her participation on the trip when the party decided to withdraw pairing arrangements for Dáil votes.
Ms Coughlan is the first Cabinet member due to face questions when the Dáil resumes on Wednesday.
In an attempt to prompt an early general election, Fine Gael said yesterday it would enforce stricter pairing arrangements in the forthcoming Dáil term and put renewed pressure on the Government to hold three outstanding byelections.
Under pairing arrangements, a TD from one party agrees with a TD from an opposing party not to vote in a particular division, giving both deputies the opportunity to be elsewhere.
However, this afternoon Mr Quinn said although he wants to get this “desperate” Government out of office as quickly as possible, the country has to be put first.
“In that context I am willing on behalf of the Labour Party to facilitate a visit to such an important conference,” the party's education spokesman said. “I believe this is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed, for the country first but also because Enterprise Ireland and the IDA have put in an enormous amount of work over the months preparing for this, and it shouldn’t be downgraded because of a situation in the Dáil."
Earlier, speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Mr Quinn said he would be seeking a meeting with the Tánaiste to get confirmation of the importance of the mission and to "ensure that Ireland does not lose this opportunity".
This evening Mr Quinn said the Tánaiste had briefed him by telephone and that he is “satisfied this is an important visit with significant job creation potential”.
In a statement he said: “I subsequently discussed the matter with the Labour Party leader, Eamon Gilmore, and the party whip, and we have agreed on this occasion to facilitate the Tánaiste with a pair for Wednesday and Thursday.
“I want to emphasise that this is a one-off arrangement, based only on our belief that with more than 450,000 on the Live Register, no opportunity should be lost to attract investment from abroad in order to create jobs at home.”
Mr Quinn said that the controversy could have been avoided had the Tánaiste extended the “normal courtesy” of contacting the Opposition spokespersons to explain in advance why she would not be present in the Dáil.
Speaking on TV3 Mr Quinn said he felt Fine Gael had made a mistake over the row. “I think they made the wrong judgement. I think that Fine Gael got it wrong on this occasion.”
Ms Coughlan said this morning the trip was intended to promote Ireland as a study destination for the Irish-American community and deliver “economic messages” to potential investors. “We’re in a position to support and attract the calibre of graduates we wish to have in this country,” Ms Coughlan said. “There is a missed opportunity which is desperately unfortunate.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Coughlan denied the Government's days were numbered saying: "We still have a majority in the house . . . this Dáil will continue to its full term".
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said he withdrew the pairing arrangement because his party “will not tolerate a situation where Ministers can plan as if Dáil Éireann doesn’t exist”.
Mr Kenny said the Tánaiste can rearrange her schedule and if she wants go on Thursday afternoon she is still in a position to do so.
“I am prepared to continue granting pairs to Government Ministers where they have to attend formal meetings of the European Council, formal meetings of the North-South bodies because they don’t have control of the dates of those arrangements, and I’m quite prepared to continue pairing arrangements for people who are seriously ill," he said.
“This Government have got to understand we will not allow them to run away any more from the chamber of the Dáil to which they were elected,” he added.
Enterprise Ireland chief executive Frank Ryan said the situation with the Tánaiste had not helped the mission. He said the benefits of having a senior Government minister at trade mission means doors are opened that wouldn’t normally be opened.
Speaking earlier, he added although it was not too late to save the trip there needed to be confidence in Government agencies when planning future conferences overseas.
Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe claimed Fine Gael was placing “political self-interest above the national interest”.
He said one in five international students came from the United States and about 70 per cent of all foreign direct investment into Ireland originated in North America. “By failing to recognise these important economic indicators, Fine Gael has demonstrated a form of political pettiness and misjudgment that destroys the party’s credibility to lead an alternative government,” the Minister said. “It is, quite simply, unpatriotic.”
Fine Gael’s education spokesman, Fergus O’Dowd, earlier defended the pairing decision, arguing his party was making sure the Government will be held accountable in the Dáil. "That is our patriotic duty," he said.
He said Fine Gael's job was to drive the Government from office. “The people want change and until we get that change we won’t get clarity," he said. "The people want rid of this Government and that is the reality."
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, who will deliver Ireland’s annual address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York today, will not be affected by the withdrawal of the pairing deal. Mr Martin is due to travel home tomorrow night to arrive in Ireland on Wednesday.
Fine Gael spokesman on the environment Phil Hogan yesterday confirmed his party would move the writs for the three outstanding byelections on Wednesday. “It is clear that the Government is unravelling. We need an immediate general election . . . we need to get our country working again,” he said.
Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin will also focus on health motions during the new Dáil term in an attempt to force rebellious TDs such as Mattie McGrath of Tipperary South and Noel Grealish of Galway West to abstain or vote against the Coalition.
With backbenchers threatening to withdraw support from the Government over health cuts in individual constituencies, putting further pressure on the Government’s slender majority, Chief Whip John Curran yesterday insisted more money for health services was not available.
This morning Senator Dan Boyle of the Greens posted on Twitter, saying it is frustrating his party’s discipline is not being matched by some Fianna Fáil backbenchers who are “cherry picking” the programme for Government.
The Government can count on the votes of 79 TDs, while the Opposition is sure of 75. The voting intentions of eight others, including Mr McGrath and Mr Grealish, are more difficult to predict. Mr McGrath said his support would depend on the retention of acute services at South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel. He lost the Fianna Fáil whip for voting against the law to ban stag hunting in June.
Mr Grealish announced on Friday he would not support the Coalition until such time as health budget cuts in the west were clarified.
The others are Dr Jim McDaid of Donegal North West, who is without the Fianna Fáil whip, and five Independents: Michael Lowry of Tipperary North, Jackie Healy-Rae of Kerry South, Joe Behan of Wicklow, Finian McGrath of Dublin North Central and Maureen O’Sullivan of Dublin Central.
