Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman has indicated he would be concerned if the next Irish government did not involve a smaller party.
Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Greens have been involved in coalition government since the last general election in 2020.
However, a new pre-election poll has indicated the former two may be able to form a government on their own after the next election which is widely expected to take place on Friday November 29.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman (Brian Lawless/PA)
The latest Business Post Red C Poll has indicated that Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are on course for overall majority without having to rely on a third party.
The poll puts Fianna Fail on 21%, up three points since the last poll and only one point behind Fine Gael on 22%.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein support was put at 17%, Independents are at 15%, Social Democrats are on 5%, Labour is on 4%, Greens, Aontu and People Before Profit-Solidarity are on 3%.
Mr O’Gorman indicated the estimations of party support does concern him.if you want a stable government, but a government that does advance progressive policies, giving the Green Party the number one vote is really important
Speaking on RTE Radio’s This Week programme, he said: “I think this has been a good government. It’s provided stability and really good policies over the last four and a half years but I think it’s been a good government because of the Green Party’s participation within it.
“I don’t think we’d be seeing a 7% reduction in carbon emissions if the Green Party hadn’t been part of this government.
“I honestly don’t think we’d have seen a 50% cut in childcare fees if the Green Party had not been in government and I hadn’t been in the Department of Children.
“I don’t think the cuts in public transport fees and the rollout of new bus services across the country would have happened without the Green Party in government.
“So it’ll be my job and my colleagues’ job to speak to people over the coming five weeks and say, if you want a stable government, but a government that does advance progressive policies, giving the Green Party the number one vote is really important.”
Meanwhile, Mr O’Gorman also expressed concern at levels of aggression and confrontation faced by politicians ahead of the next election campaign.
“I’ve had abuse shouted at me on four of my canvasses in the last week alone, so it had died down after the local elections, it is ramping up again now, it is concerning,” he said.
“I think it’s a mix (of targeted and opportunistic efforts). I personally have always tried to focus on the job at hand … but I do think we are going to have to have a discussion about what is acceptable in our public dialogue, and our political dialogue, and I do think we have to think about some of what is said in the Dail, and the rhetoric that gets stirred up there as well.
“I saw it during some of the debate on hate crime legislation last week.
“Some of the language that is used there and some of the implications of, if you’re for this, or against this, where you stand in Irish society, is quite troubling, and I would call on all politicians just to consider the level of rhetoric they use in the course of this campaign.”