Taoiseach under fire over willingness to accept SF support

08/01/2007 - 08:23:22
Fine Gael has launched an attack on the Taoiseach over his admission that he would accept support from Sinn Féin after the next election.

Speaking over the weekend, Bertie Ahern said Fianna Fáil would not join a coalition government with the republican party after the next election.

However, he said he would accept Sinn Féin support if it was needed to prop up a minority Fianna Fáil government.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny this morning accused Mr Ahern of adopting a dramatic change in policy, claiming a vote for Fianna Fáil was now a vote for Sinn Féin.

Mr Kenny is also demanding to know if the PDs would accept Sinn Féin support should the current coalition end up with just less than half of the seats in the Dáil.