After the election, the head of the Green Party has projected that Fianna Fáil-led Fine Gael will return to power, although he has cautioned against the coalition being “propped up by a few independents,” reports RTE.
In a news conference with his party’s senators and TDs ahead of tomorrow’s formal call for the general election, Roderic O’Gorman stated that despite being the smallest party in this coalition, they have had the biggest influence.
Additionally, the Minister of Integration defended his administration of the International Protection System, claiming that people are no longer as concerned about it as they previously were.
“The polls suggest the two major parties will be back in the next government. I think if it is a government just made up of them, or maybe propped up with a few independents, I think it would be a very different government to the one we have had over the past four years,” he said, reports RTE.
“We won’t see those innovative policies in terms of climate, in terms of helping families, in terms of public transport. We would not see those delivered in a government that the Green Party is not part of, and that is why we will be making the case strongly every single day over the next 22 days, that we need a strong Green Party presence at the centre of the next government,” reports RTE.
He stated that the land development agency (LDA) should “keep going to build more cost rentals so people can enjoy rent that is cheaper because you are stripping out the landlord’s profits.” This is why the Green Party’s strategy would differ from Sinn Féin’s.
According to him, the Greens would push for a central migration agency with two functions: finding housing and expediting the processing of applicants for international protection, reports RTE.
Since migration and the IPS have emerged as major political topics in recent years, Minister O’Gorman has come under fire.
He added: “A lot of that is because we are now able to accommodate people more quickly. we are not seeing the tented cities we are saw on our streets earlier on this year and that is because the new accommodation strategy I brought in in March is delivering on our ability to accommodate people who previously would have been rough sleeping,” reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
