Fionnan Sheahan: Opposition scents blood over Greens' stag party
FIANNA Fail figures were expressing admiration last week for the manner in which Phil Hogan had fought off the challenge of Fine Gael's well-heeled yet politically naive frontbench elite in the leadership heave against Enda Kenny.
Nobody on the Fianna Fail benches was so starstruck yesterday, however, when Big Phil turned his guns on them over their support for the Green Party's animal-welfare legislation.
Throwing salt on the wound, he said there was an "anti-rural bias" to Environment Minister John Gormley's "narrow political agenda", which was "ideologically driven" and had nothing to do with the broader public interest.
Fine Gael's environment spokesman posed the question of how Fianna Fail backbenchers could vote with the Greens on these matters.
And he warned that the ban on the hunting of deer with packs of dogs was "the thin end of the wedge", with further curbs on rural pursuits set to follow.
Long regarded as dominated by liberal city-dwellers, the Labour Party dropped its stereotypical image and surprisingly opposed what a spokesman described as "trophy legislation".
"It is a last-ditch attempt to achieve something in a Government where it has achieved very little," the party's environment spokeswoman Joanna Tuffy said.
She also queried if it was the start of a wider clampdown.
The perception that the Greens' ban on stag hunting is setting a precedent is not isolated to the opposition parties.
Several Fianna Fail backbenchers yesterday asked Gormley to give a guarantee that there won't be further restrictions on rural sports.
Fianna Fail's Johnny Brady warned that fox hunting, hare hunting, hare coursing, shooting, fishing and greyhound racing had better not be on the hit list or he wouldn't vote with the Government.
"If anything else is tinkered with, you will have not my support," he said, adding that there had to come a time to say "enough is enough".
"This is an assault on rural Ireland and its traditions," he told TDs.
Brady's sentiments echo the views expressed within Fianna Fail over the new regulations on dog breeding.
Anger over Gormley's handling of concerns over the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill has resulted in the normally loyal Senator Denis O'Donovan losing the party whip after he abstained from a vote on the legislation last week.
Fianna Fail backbenchers Liam Aylward and Mattie McGrath were also involved in a verbal altercation over the failures to get the legislation watered down.
Tensions between the coalition partners have been frayed by the ongoing passage of the Civil Partnership Bill. Elements within Fianna Fail -- represented most vocally by Senators John Hanafin and Jim Walsh -- object to parts of the bill.
Given the pressure from conservative sections of society and the Catholic Church against the bill, amid claims that it will weaken the sanctity of marriage, the Fianna Fail backbench line has held well. But it shouldn't be taken for granted.
It would be wrong to depict the civil-partnership legislation as solely a Green Party demand, but their input has been valuable. Nonetheless, it is being passed by a Fianna Fail minister and requires the full support of the main coalition partner.
The Planning and Development Bill is passing through the houses of the Oireachtas relatively easily, given the previous suspicions about the extent of the law.
From the Green Party's perspective, it is advantageous for it to advance its agenda. The party has always said that it will only stay in Government for as long as it feels that it is implementing policies.
The negotiation of the Revised Programme for Government last autumn saw the party gain a series of commitments in return for staying the course with Fianna Fail through the spending cutbacks, tax hikes and bank injections to come.
But taking the animal-welfare bills as a package at the same time, with the furore this has caused, does create a perception that the Greens are more interested in furry animals than struggling families.
Fianna Fail TD Thomas Byrne queried why the stag-hunting legislation was being debated at this time.
"Why are we even spending time on it when there are so many other matters facing the country?" he demanded.
The damage to the relationship between the coalition parties does come at a price.
The amount of political capital expended by the Greens risks other priorities on their list being long-fingered.
Certainly, the planning overhaul will be regarded as a jewel in the Greens' crown from their time in Government.
But the election of a Dublin mayor remains an eye-catching target.
The legislation to allow for the mayor will only be published before the summer break and its passage will have to wait until the Dail returns in the autumn.
THE delay in the publication of the legislation will not add confidence to the claims by Gormley that the first election will be held this year.
By holding the mayoral election, the Government would have no excuse not to also hold the three pending by-elections in Donegal South-West, Dublin South and Waterford.
Forget about seeing Taoiseach Brian Cowen volunteering to go to the polls any time soon. The probable absence of a Dublin mayor by the end of the year will be a credibility blow to the Greens.
The party will also need to show its influence on the economic issues, such as relief for those experiencing difficulties paying their mortgages.
When the Greens signed up for the rest of their term in power, the party trumpeted the mortgage protection for families as a major achievement from the coalition talks, describing it as "My NAMA".
"We will introduce new measures to protect families having difficulties with their home mortgage payments. These could include: reduced rates; rolling-up of outstanding interest; bank taking equity in the house; bank taking ownership and leasing back to the resident, with rent payment coming off the loan," the party said.
But Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said yesterday that he was still awaiting proposals to feed into possible legislation to deal with serious mortgage difficulties.
He said he had set up a review group to look at the issue and that it was due to produce an interim report in the summer.
Ahead of the Dublin-Meath Leinster football semi-final this Sunday, Fine Gael Meath East TD Shane McEntee last night summed up the bemusement over the passing of the stag-hunting ban.
"There'll be more blood spilt in Croke Park next Sunday than there will be in the next 10 stag hunts," he said.
fsheahan@independent.ie
Irish Independent
