Vote won against early by-election
Brian Cowan's Government narrowly won a Dail vote against an immediate by-election in Donegal South West
The Government narrowly won a Dail vote against an immediate by-election in Donegal South West after two Fianna Fail deputies accidentally voted with the Opposition.
The Ceann Comhairle was forced to use the casting vote after the blunder by Deputies Frank Fahey and Timmy Dooley.
Earlier the Labour Party accused the Taoiseach of running scared of the public by refusing to name a date for three separate by-elections.
Eamon Gilmore said voters in Donegal South West, Dublin South and Waterford have a right to full representation and he claimed Brian Cowen was dodging having to deal with the vacant seats.
The Taoiseach said it was up to the Dail to agree on a date and it was not a matter for Government.
But Mr Gilmore said: "I have rarely seen any Taoiseach, or indeed the head of any Government anywhere running so scared of the public than you are now.
"Set the date for the by-elections and allow the people of Donegal and South Dublin and Waterford, to have their right, a right that was fought for by people who have gone before us to have representation in the Dail and to have their full representation here and to accept the verdict of the people."
Donegal South West has had a vacant Dail seat since Pat "the Cope" Gallagher was elected MEP last June, while Dublin South has been open since being vacated by George Lee in February and Waterford since Martin Cullen stepped down in March.
Mr Gilmore said the people in the constituencies have a right to full representation. "You're making it sound as though the right of people to be represented in Dail Eireann is some kind of a form of political patronage that can be doled out by Fianna Fail, and that a by-election is something that can be handed out like a national lottery grant," he said.
Mr Cowen said it was up to the house to set a date. "It is a matter for the House to decide these matters. It is not a matter for Government," the Taoiseach said.
Press Association
