Green failures again criticised by de Búrca

From DEAGLÁN de BRÉADÚN in the Irish Times 6th March 2010. The article can be found here http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0306/1224265705027.html

"THE GREEN party should withdraw from the coalition with Fianna Fáil “sooner rather than later”, former party senator Déirdre de Búrca has said in a further stinging critique of her former colleagues.

The party had found itself supporting legislation that “conflicts with its fundamental principles”, particularly on Nama, Ms de Búrca claimed.

The party’s failure, as she saw it, to negotiate successfully over even one of its “flagship” issues – such as the Shannon stopover, Tara or the Corrib gas project – had created “an unfortunate public perception that we were willing to trade key policy concessions for high office”.

Writing in the latest issue of Village magazine, Ms de Búrca claims the Green parliamentary party has been “effectively paralysed” by a combination of “weak leadership, an attachment to political office and a morbid fear of provoking an election”.

She resigned last month from the Seanad, where she was a Taoiseach’s nominee, over the failure of her party leadership, as she saw it, to secure an appointment for her to the cabinet of Ireland’s European commissioner, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn."