Fianna Fáil has been accused of ‘jackboot tactics’ after voting down an attempt by an Oireachtas Committee to discuss the decentralisation programme.
During a stormy session at the Finance Committee, Senator Martin Mansergh, a former civil servant, said it was the duty of the civil service to carry out a policy which had been put to the electorate and endorsed by a clear majority.
The proposal to hold a two day hearing into decentralisation, after the local elections, was made by a number of Opposition deputies.
Although it was supported by a majority of Committee members present, Fianna Fáil's Ned O'Keeffe demanded a vote, and the Government's inbuilt majority defeated the proposal.
