John Gormley

The Green Party’s party political broadcast has won a prestigious Shark Diploma at the annual advertising awards ceremony in Kinsale this week.

The three-minute broadcast featured dozens of children who explained that they were too young to vote, and instead asked adults to vote on their behalf. It was broadcast on RTE1 television May 10th this year

The Green Party’s broadcast won a diploma in the Public Service and Social Welfare section. According to advertising copywriter Nick Kelly, who wrote the script: “This is traditionally one of the toughest sections, because everybody likes making charity ads. So winning a Diploma was quite an achievement.”

Just three diplomas were awarded this year in what are called the Sharks awards. The award was presented to Antidote, the Dublin company that made the broadcast on behalf of the Green Party, which is led by Andrew Freedman and Ken Wardrop.

Commenting on the award, Green Party Leader John Gormley congratulated the team that made the broadcast. He said: “This three-minute vignette was not only the most successful broadcast in this year’s election, but probably the most successful in the history of Irish politics. No other party political broadcast came close to generating the same interest. I expect it will be the template for all party political broadcasts to come.

“The Green Party took the unusual step of not including a single politician in our broadcast, and this is probably the secret of its success. We wanted to emphasise that the Party was campaigning for a better future for the next generation. We weren’t asking people to vote for us politicians; we were asking them to use their votes for the betterment of the next generation. We owe a great deal of our success in the election to the power of this broadcast, and we will honour it in Government by striving to secure the future of the children’s country and their planet,” said Mr. Gormley.

Notes for editors

The Green Party’s PPB can be seen on www.YouTube.com, where already it has been viewed more than 14,000 times.

The Shark Awards were established in 1962 and now at the birth of commercial television in Ireland, the Shark Awards now rank as one of the top creative advertising festivals in the world. For more information on the festival, visit www.sharkawards.com

Green Party Chairman and Director of Elections John Gormley TD has said the threat that the Progressive Democrats may pull out of Government over additional information on Bertie Ahern’s finances, effectively means the party are ‘dead in the water’.

Deputy Gormley said: “If the PDs pull the plug, who exactly are they going to go into Government with? Fine Gael, the Labour Party and the Green Party won’t touch those opportunists with a barge pole.

“The only new information that Progressive Democrats’ Leader Michael McDowell if getting about the Taoiseach’s personal finances is from people on the doorsteps who are expressing a lack of confidence in his leadership and in the PDs in particular.

”Only a number of days ago he stated that he was happy with Ahern’s leadership, and that the Taoiseach had fully briefed him last Autumn. Now that the public and PD voters in particular have expressed concern on the doorsteps about Mr Ahern’s peculiar financial arrangements, Michael McDowell is back to his old trick of pretending to hold the Taoiseach to account.”

The Green Party today published an alcohol position paper, aimed at tackling alcohol related harm in our society. Green Party Chairman and Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said it was necessary to change the way alcohol is marketed and sold in Ireland to address the ongoing problems of alcohol addiction and binge-drinking.

Deputy Gormley said: “Bank Holiday weekends tend to be a time of over-indulgence in alcohol. We are not saying that people should stay away from the pub but we do need to address the ongoing problems that alcohol related harm has on our society. Since 2004, most of the recommendations of the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol have been languishing in the Government’s filing cabinets. They have shelved the Alcohol Products Bill and withdrawn from the Groceries Order, which allows off-licences to sell alcohol at below cost. (more…)

Statement by Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD

“Michael McDowell’s comments earlier today on Bertie Ahern’s financial affairs provide yet another example of the PD leader’s penchant for political posturing. Only a number of days ago he stated that he was happy with Ahern’s leadership, and that the Taoiseach had fully briefed him last Autumn.

“Many people will recall McDowell’s vacillations during that period. People will also recall that the PD Leader only supported the Taoiseach when it became clear there was a certain amount of public sympathy for him.

“Now that the public and PD voters in particular have expressed concern on the doorsteps about Mr Ahern’s peculiar financial arrangements, Michael McDowell is back to his old trick of pretending to hold the Taoiseach to account.

“For the last five years the PD ‘enforcer’ has acted like the Tammy Wynette of Irish politics, standing by his man. The threat of a last-minute divorce won’t fool anyone,” concluded Deputy Gormley.

– Gormley accuses cowardly PD Leader of avoiding him and challenges him to debate

The Green Party has called on Michael McDowell to stop his smear campaign against the Green Party and answer questions about his knowledge of Bertie Ahern’s financial arrangements. Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD challenged the PD Leader to a debate on these issues. He claimed McDowell had avoided appearances on any TV or radio station with him over the last five years.

Deputy Gormley said: “Since the beginning of this election campaign, Michael McDowell has engaged in a smear campaign against the Green Party. He has issued leaflets in my constituency which have no basis in fact and he has refused totally to engage in any debate with me when challenged to do so. If he is so sure of his ground, then he should be prepared to defend his outrageous claims.

“Instead of engaging in smear tactics and negative campaigning, McDowell ought to clarify exactly what he knew about the Taoiseach’s very strange financial arrangements. In particular he should answer the following questions:

• Did he know about the €30,000 that Michael Wall gave to the Taoiseach’s former partner, Celia Larkin?
• Was he given to understand that Ms. Larkin was operating a bank account for the Taoiseach?
• When the Taoiseach failed to disclose this last autumn, why did McDowell also choose to stay silent on this important piece of information?

“Above all else, there is one central question that he needs to respond to – why has he not kept an eye on Fianna Fáil, as he promised to do when he climbed up the infamous lamppost with the ‘One party government – no thanks’ poster in 2002? People are genuinely disappointed in his performance and the fact that he has reneged on this commitment to maintain high standards in government. McDowell has been taking pot-shots at the Greens and then running away. It’s time he stood his ground and stopped acting the coward.”

- Green Party would impose poster limits for future elections

Green Party Chairman and Director of Elections, John Gormley TD said today that the election poster campaign has got out of hand and needed to be properly regulated in the future. He promised that if the Green Party entered government they would introduce European style limits on political advertising.

Deputy Gormley said: “The amount of posters used during an election has got completely out of hand. In my own constituency of Dublin South East there is scarcely a pole left such was the onslaught yesterday morning and afternoon. There are an unprecedented number of posters, mostly, it has to be said, from Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the PDs – the parties who receive most from big business.

“Of course the smaller parties are then forced to compete with this, thus increasing the number of posters they use, leading to a type of postering madness that we are now witnessing. If the Green Party becomes part of the next Government we will ensure that the following measures are introduced:

1. A limit of 150 posters per candidate to be erected at official City Council sites, which are now used to advertise official events (these brackets on lampposts can be seen already in certain city centre locations). This is a practice in other European cities and would bring a degree of civility to election campaigns. The current free-for-all is unsustainable to say the least.
2. In relation to election literature, each party should have the opportunity to print a synopsis of their policies in one official booklet which would be sent to each household. This would, again, help to stop the proliferation of election leaflets going through people’s doors. Most of this election literature ends up in the Green bin in any case.
3. There must be much stricter election spending limits, not just at election time but between elections. It is very noticeable that the government Parties sent out very expensive newspapers over the weekend in the full knowledge that the election was just about to be called and that the spending limits would be imposed.

“Not only will the above measures even the electoral playing field – they would also spare the voter the onslaught of posters and leaflets and be far better for the environment,” Mr. Gormley concluded.

– Govt has abandoned 2001 health strategy, says Gormley

The Green Party today outlined its vision on reforming the health service, and promised to deliver 2,000 extra acute beds in its first five years in government, in a bid to end the ‘national emergency’ in Ireland’s A&E units. Speaking at the launch of Party’s policy document on hospitals and funding this morning, Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said that the Green Party would also stop Mary Harney’s ‘co-location’ plans to build private hospitals on public land.

Deputy Gormley said: “There are very few people on the front lines of medicine who advocate co-location. Indeed many respected health experts have described the idea as ‘cloud cuckoo land’. If we want to improve our public health service then we must invest in public beds, not private, for-profit hospitals, which will undoubtedly cherry-pick the least-complicated and most profitable procedures, leaving the most difficult tasks to public hospitals. This move will also result in higher premiums for the privately insured. If insurance costs continue to rise, then more people will be forced back into a seriously depleted public system. The Green Party is making it very clear today that we will scrap these plans. It would appear from some reports that there is also little enthusiasm in some quarters of the HSE for this hair-brained scheme.

“Many of the problems of our health service can be traced back to a lack of acute public beds, intensive care unit beds and step-down staff. The Green Party is committed to implementing the 2001 health strategy, which the FF-PD Government has totally abandoned. We will invest in 400 acute beds per annum, over a seven year period. We will do the same in relation to step-down beds. This target allows for the improvement of bed capacity on a phased and planned basis, taking into account fluctuations in population. The main point in relation to bed capacity is that there has been a 25 per cent reduction in beds since the 1980s, in startling contrast to the 25 per cent increase in population.

“The Green Party has already published a comprehensive document on primary healthcare. In our first term in office we would like to introduce free primary healthcare for the under sixes. It is our aim to phase in free access to primary healthcare for all citizens over a ten year period.

“About 53 per cent of our population has private health insurance and the Green Party believes that community rating and risk equalisation are the fairest ways to ensure equality of treatment for those taking out insurance. It is clear, however, that increasing numbers of people are turning to health insurance because they lack confidence in our public health system. If we are to begin to tackle the two-tiered health system we must start investing in crucial elements of the public health service. It should be noted that A&E units do not distinguish between public and private and that, similarly, over 73 per cent of people in our public hospitals, whether they be private or insured, come through A&E.

“We are committed to providing an extra consultants for the public health service. But it is clear that money is not the only impediment to achieving a satisfactory resolution to the ongoing dispute with consultants. Many consultants who are committed to delivering a top-class public health service have stated that the contract, as advertised, lacks sufficient administration time. These issues cannot be ignored, and indeed, should have been resolved years ago.”

“We also believe that greater efficiencies can be introduced into the system in relation to types of payment and that the HSE must become more accountable,” concluded Deputy Gormley.

Statement by Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD:

“It now appears that Tánaiste Michael McDowell has pulled back from his headline grabbing statement in relation to the Poolbeg incinerator. Yesterday Mr. McDowell was quite emphatic when he said that the PDs would not agree in Government to finance the Poolbeg incinerator, effectively making this a pre-condition for Government.

“Today at a press conference he stated that the incinerator would have to be consistent with Government policy. As usual, this clarification will not get the same publicity as his previous statement. The fact is that Dick Roche has agreed that the Poolbeg plant is consistent with Government policy and Michael McDowell has had ample opportunity to stop this incinerator while sitting at the cabinet table.

“The Green Party put down a private members’ bill on the issue and the PDs voted it down. Michael McDowell at the last election implied that stopping the incinerator was a condition for Government. He’s trying to perform the same trick again. On this occasion, the voters in Dublin South East have wised up to his posturing.”

Green Party Chairman and Dublin South East TD John Gormley has accused Michael McDowell of opportunism on the issue of the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg.

Deputy Gormley said: “This latest election promise is a pathetic last gasp effort to regain credibility on the issue. People should see through this election gimmick. Stopping the incinerator was a central plank of Michael McDowell’s election campaign in 2002. He told voters that he would be best placed of all the candidates to stop the project as he would be sitting at the cabinet table and could change government policy. Once elected however, Minister McDowell forgot about that promise

“The record shows that the government voted down a Green Party motion to stop the incinerator. We have been very clear that in government this incinerator will not go ahead.

“I believe that the planning case against this incinerator is unanswerable. The site selection process was flawed, the traffic impact would be disastrous and, most importantly, there is no need for this massive facility. However, in the past we have seen cases where the An Bord Pleanála’s inspector recommended against the project on planning grounds, only to have this decision overturned by the Bord on the basis of ‘government policy’. This is what happened with the incinerator at Ringaskiddy, and more recently with the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road stadium.

“A recent independent report on waste management in Ireland found that our reliance on incineration is in fact a major impediment to meeting our targets under the EU Landfill Directive. This report, by leading European environmental consultants Eunomia, found that alternatives to incineration could be put in place more quickly and at less cost. We urgently need a change in Government policy, otherwise we will be lumbered with a collection of massive incinerators, which, in the words of Dr Dominic Hogg, the author of the Eunomia report, will ‘crowd out recycling options’.

Green Party Health spokesperson John Gormley TD has called on the Government to set a date for the introduction of a 35-hour working work for nurses, before an all-out strike occurs.

Deputy Gormley said: “We now have seven days in which the Government and the HSE can de-escalate this dispute. This could be resolved by giving the nurses’ representative bodies a date for the introduction of a 35-hour week. If this was done any outstanding problems in relation to pay increases under benchmarking could be quickly resolved.

“The nurses have indicated that they are more than willing to be flexible and they do not want this dispute to escalate into full-scale industrial action. It is regrettable that their expectations of flexibility from the Government and HSE, was not fulfilled.

“In a letter to the INO the Taoiseach indicated that the Government was prepared to engage fully and with an open mind with the nurses’ representatives. Regrettably this did not happen. Instead any attempt to get a date for the introduction of a 35-hour week was resolutely refused.

“The Green Party believes that the nurses and their unions have legitimate grievances and the Government must face up to these by setting a date for the introduction of a 35-hour working week to bring this dispute to an end.”