'Elbows out' but Green Party leader plays down reports of Coalition leaders butting heads
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Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman has sought to downplay reports that the three coalition leaders have been butting heads as they head into the election campaign, saying: "I expect everyone's elbows are going to be out now over the next couple of weeks."
Speaking about receiving pushback from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over policies being tabled by the Greens, Mr O'Gorman said: "My view was we work all the way to the end of Cabinet, to the end of this government.
"I had no sense that we were going to down tools two weeks out."
Mr O'Gorman's comments come as Taoiseach Simon Harris called on opposition parties not to “play politics” with the Occupied Territories Bill, as the legislation is set to be pushed to after the general election.
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Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats have called for time to be set aside in next week’s Dáil schedule to pass the legislation, which would ban goods and services that are produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank from being imported to Ireland.
Mr Harris said the government is engaging in “good faith” with the bill’s sponsor, Senator Frances Black, but that a general election would push the legislation back.
While the Government will not give time for the legislation next week, the Social Democrats is to push forward a motion next Thursday calling for the Dáil to recognise Israeli attacks on Gaza as genocide.
Among the last acts of the government will be the Dáil's approval of a new extradition treaty with the UAE, as well as the Family Courts Bill.
The bill itself will be passed by the Dáil on Tuesday, before being finalised by the Seanad on Thursday. It will ensure that judges are assigned to the Family Courts on a full-time basis.
It comes as Comisiún na Meán confirmed that the broadcast moratorium for elections would be formally scrapped, allowing TV and radio to discuss the election after 2pm before polling day.