EMMET STAGG, TD,
Madam, - Did the Green Party, Sinn Féin and the Independents, including Mr Michael Lowry, really expect the Labour Party to accept the consequences of their parliamentary stunt which sought to upstage Labour and push it from second place in the order of Opposition speakers to fifth, sixth or seventh place? Were they really surprised when Labour, a cohesive party of 21 members, hit back, effectively to reclaim its previous position?
John Gormley (Opinion,October 29th) fails to give due credit to Labour and to this writer for its full support for changes in the "group rules" that would have allowed the Greens, Sinn Féin and the Independents to separately form their own recognised groups. This was their expressed preference, but the Government flatly refused it for its own reasons.
Mr Gormley is correct in stating that Labour did not approach the Greens on the difficulties with the new speaking order. However, he must be aware that Labour, through this writer, had discussions on this topic with Deputy Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin, who was representing the Greens, Sinn Féin and the Independents on that day. And very far from generous he was - the best on offer was that Labour would be fifth speaker in important debates.
As Mr Ó Caoláin seems to be the political and ideological leader of the group (including the Greens) in the Dáil Chamber, I assumed that he would have informed the other parts of the group of his discussions with me.
John Gormley must also be aware that Mr Michael Lowry was actively recruited to the group by the new whip for the group, Mr Tony Gregory. While I admire Mr Gormley's wish to be inclusive, even towards people he had previously urged be jailed, he must be aware that the only purpose in restoring a whip and consequential parliamentary privileges to Mr Lowry was to seek to upstage the Labour Party in Dáil debates. Labour could not accept demotion by such tawdry methods. The recruitment of Michael Lowry was the real shoddy deal in this whole affair.
It also appears that while the members of the Technical Group were all too anxious to participate in high-profile matters, such as Leader's questions, they are less willing to do the routine parliamentary business that is the bread and butter of our democratic system.
The strongest parliamentary instrument for making a Government accountable to the Dáil is the regular and persistent use of Parliamentary Questions. Every TD, whether in a group or party or totally independent, is entitled to put two questions to a Government Minister each sitting day. The members of the Technical Group would between them be entitled to table 44 oral questions each day.
I won't embarrass John Gormley and his colleagues by quoting the figures for a whole series of recent Ministers, but I think even he would have great difficulty in explaining to his supporters how the Green Party could not come up with a single oral question on the last day on which the Minister for the Environment answered.
It is unfortunate that so much time has been expended on this issue. The Labour Party has no wish to be at loggerheads with other parties in opposition. Our target is this discredited and dishonest right-wing Government that has already betrayed and disappointed so many people. - Yours, etc.,
EMMET STAGG, TD, Chief Whip, The Labour Party, Leinster House,
Dublin 2.