Greens in office but not in power!

The new Government Ministers haven’t even gone to the Park to get their seals of office from the President, but already Fianna Fail are screwing their new Green partners in Government.

Although Green Party president John Gormley has been appointed Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Govt, the Taoiseach announced that responsibility for non-National Roads will be transferred from Environment to the Dept. of Transport.

Later it emerged that outgoing FF Environment Minister Dick Roche has today signed the order permitting construction of the M3 Motorway to continue on its original route - straight through the recently discovered pre-historic henge.

Given that re-routing of the M3 was a major platform for the Greens in the recent election, and failure to get this agreed in the joint programme for Government was a major embarrassment for them, this really is FF giving them the two-fingers on their first day in office, but not in power.

PS: 15th June 2007 - incoming Environment Minister John Gormley announces that he doesn't believe he can rescind his predecessor's decision. They're learning - "big boy's games, big boy's rules".