February 18 or 25: Labour names 'acceptable' Election dates
Labour finance spokeswoman Joan Burton called for the Government to agree to an election on February 18 or 25.
“I think the first thing Brian Lenihan has to realise is that Fianna Fáil is now a minority Government and it does not command sufficient support in the Dáil to dictate the order of business,” she said.
Ms Burton said her party is proposing that almost all ordinary parliamentary business is set aside, allowing for up to 30 hours debate on the Finance Bill by Friday.
“What we are insisting on is that this country needs to stop the drift of reputation,” she told RTE Radio.
Labour has threatened a motion of no confidence in the Government unless it gets a deal on the early election.
Meanwhile, Mr Lenihan insisted a five-day timetable for passing the legislation was unrealistic.
“We’re not stalling. It’s clear that the normal timetable ends at the end of March. I already brought it back to the beginning of March,” the minister said.
Simon Coveney, communications spokesman with Fine Gael, warned there is no reason to wait until March for an election.
“I think everybody is just disgusted and ashamed of what is happening in government and we want to bring an end to that,” Mr Coveney said.
He said Ireland was the source of ridicule for the international media after the events of the last week.
“Fianna Fáil no longer controls politics in Ireland,” he said. “The choice is either there is a compromise which is realistic and which brings about the dissolving of the Dáil by this weekend or the Opposition takes the view that it cannot work with Fianna Fáil and triggers a General Election.
“That is the choice.”
Paul Gogarty, Green TD, urged the main Opposition parties to take a leap of faith in what is left of the Government over the Finance Bill.
The Greens have refused to declare whether they will vote for or against a threatened no-confidence motion if a deal on the Bill cannot be reached.
Mr Lenihan revealed that the Finance Bill, published last Friday, contains a number of reforms to shut tax loopholes.
The minister said 10 new provisions are anti-avoidance measures to get substantial income for the Revenue.
“When you publish a Finance Bill, provisions outlawing tax schemes date from the time of publication so if you drop these provisions, you create a paradise for tax avoidance lawyers,” he said.
