Irish Prime Minister Cowen to dissolve Parliament after passing of vital budget

[News_Editor]

Irish Prime Minister Cowen to dissolve Parliament after passing of vital budget

2010-11-23 03:44:43 GMT+7 (ICT)

DUBLIN (BNO NEWS) -- Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen on Monday announced that he will dissolve the Dáil, the Lower House of the Parliament, after vital budget is passed.

Taoiseach Cowen said in a meeting with Fianna Fáil Cabinet members (the Republican ruling party) that he would seek the dissolution of the Dáil after the provisions of the budget are enacted into law. The budget will be delivered on December 7.

The Prime Minister added that the budgetary process is vital to secure the economic and financial future of the country. As the process may take several weeks to complete, Cowen remarked that delaying it will cast doubts in the people’s confidence towards the government.

"I'm saying that it is imperative for this country that the Budget is passed. I'm also saying that it is highly important in the interests of political stability that that happen," Cowen said. "It's very important for people to understand that any further delay in this matter in fact weakens this country’s position."

If the process is not delayed, the Dáil could be dissolved by February or March 2011 and would be followed by elections. The Prime Minister's announcement came after the Green Party, Fianna Fáil coalition partners, called for a general election due to economic situation of the country.

John Gormley, Green Party leader and Environment Minister, called for a date for the vote for some time around mid-January. The call immersed the Irish government into crisis and came after the government asked the International Monetary Fund and the European Union for a multimillion aid package.

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

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-11-23