Irish election date imminent

The Irish electorate looks like it will be going to the polls after the Green Party released a statement calling for a January 2011 election.

Party leader John Gormley said in a statement this morning, “We have now reached a point where the Irish people need political certainty to take them beyond the coming two months.”

The statement continued, “We believe it is time to fix a date for a general election in the second half of January 2011. We made our decision last Saturday after a long series of meetings.”

The call comes just hours after the Cabinet agreed to request a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the ECB.

Without Green Party support, the coalition government, which also includes a number of independents, will not have a big enough majority to survive. It means that Fianna Fáil will have little option but to concede to the demand.

However, Labour Party's Justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte rubbished the claim by the Green Party that it is acting in the national interest. He said its statement was more about "trying to save face".

He continued, “Clearly the minor party wanted to get its retaliation in first. Their statement today is at variance with everything they have said up until yesterday, but I think they are probably trying to save their own skins.”

Gormley said he has informed Brian Cowen of his party’s new position and he is said to be disappointed by the development.

Mr Gormley said: "The past week has been a traumatic one for the Irish electorate. People feel misled and betrayed.

“But we have now reached a point where the Irish people need political certainty to take them beyond the coming two months. So we believe it is time to fix a date for a general election in the second half of January 2011.”

The Greens said they made the decision on Saturday.

The party then sent its two Cabinet ministers into an emergency meeting yesterday to sign off the IMF/EU bail-out.