A new set of priorities has been laid before the electorate with the publication of the Green Party's manifesto yesterday which could challenge the consensual character of the election campaign so far.
The party's "big idea", to borrow the vogue-word from their more established counterparts, is the plan to reverse the ratio of spending from roads to public transport within the National Development Plan. It advocates that €6 billion should be allocated to improving public transport with the completion of the Luas, the western rail link and the Metro lines. It wants expenditure on transport weighted in favour of non-private motor car use, pedestrianisation and cycleways.
This bias in favour of public transport, at the expense of infrastructural development, would seem to put the party at odds with its potential Rainbow partners in any alternative government. But there are many other proposals which could form the basis for post-election negotiations.
Like other parties, the Greens also spell out their formula for funding improvements in public services over the next five years. The party plans to fund public services by an extra €1 billion a year by increasing the proportion of tax take by 0.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product per annum. It promises to do so through taxes other than personal taxes. It proposes a 15 per cent Corporation tax, an increase of 2.5 percentage points on next year's rate, a 5 per cent tax on the profits of banks and financial institutions, a windfall tax on land speculators and energy taxes. The party is adamant, however, that it views PRSI as a flat rate tax and advocates that it should be reduced for employees and employers.
There are many proposals in the manifesto which are unique to Green politics. The party recommends a zero waste policy with emphasis on reducing, re-using and re-cycling. It wants to set a target for 20 per cent of electricity to be produced through renewable resources by 2010. It is against a second referendum on the existing Nice Treaty and Irish involvement in the EU's Rapid Reaction Force. It is opposed to the development of super-dumps and incineration.
For all of that, however, there is ample evidence in the manifesto that the Green Party means business in this election. It is moving away from being a party of protest to a prospective party in government. It took the first step in this course last October when it cast off the collective approach to decision-making and elected Mr Trevor Sargent as leader. It is now a more focused electoral organisation.
The Green Party goes into the election with a fairly consistent showing of 5 per cent in the opinion polls. It is fielding 24 candidates in different constituencies. It could win up to four seats. On a good day, it could be wooed by Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael/Labour to make up the numbers for the next coalition government. On the publication of its manifesto, however, most political strategists will be assessing how the Green agenda could converge with the plans produced by Fine Gael and the Labour Party. There are differences in the three documents. But if the numbers stack-up on polling day, there is no doubt that the Green Party, like any other, will seek to surmount them.