INDEPENDENTS:INDEPENDENT TDs Michael Lowry and Jackie Healy-Rae have warned that their support for the Finance Bill is "not guaranteed" and that an early election is essential.
Kerry South TD Mr Healy-Rae said it was “very unlikely” he would continue to vote with the Government. “What is going on is unbelievable,” he said. “We are going nowhere.”
Mr Lowry said that he and Mr Healy-Rae, who have traditionally supported the Government, were consulting their local political organisations and would declare their stance in relation to the Finance Bill after the outcome of today’s discussions between the Opposition and Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan on the timescale for the Bill.
“Our votes on the Finance Bill are not guaranteed,” Mr Lowry said. He urged the Opposition parties in their meetings with Mr Lenihan to negotiate any amendments they required which would allow them to vote for the Bill and facilitate its enactment.
Independent TD for Wicklow Joe Behan said he would be “supporting the Finance Bill in the national interest” but that it should be passed by Friday.
“This should be the last week of the Dáil,” the former Fianna Fáil TD said. “I’ve sat through debates on a number of important Bills – banking Bills, emergency measures in the public interest – and these have been passed in less than a day or two days.”
He said if the Government was as concerned as it seemed to be about the passage of the Bill, and he did not doubt that, it should focus on passing it this week.
He also said it was important that the potential Fianna Fáil leaders “pay some attention” to the national interest and the public’s requirement for an election.