In which the Green Party make me puke

I see the Greens at their Ard Fheis this weekend talking about being a genuine alternative. What a joke. They had a chance this week to give the Government a major shock, and they blew it.

On Wednesday the Sinn Féin Dáil Leader, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, was thrown out of the chamber for insisting the Taoiseach answer questions about the disability legislation. Per Dáil Standing Orders, the vote on his suspension took place the following day. It was 50-48 in favour - the closest margin in any vote I can recall under this Government. And two of the Greens were missing from it.

Now, sometimes TDs have to be away during a vote. That's understandable. But the two missing Greens - Dan Boyle and Ciarán Cuffe - were on the premises. They just didn't vote, either because they had agreed to a 'pairing' arrangement with a Government TD (a scandal in itself) or because they simply couldn't bother their arse. And so an unprecedented chance to really embarrass the Government was lost.

Of course, the Greens aren't the only guilty party. There were other Opposition TDs who were also on the premises and didn't vote. But from Labour and Fine Gael, you expect that kind of sucking up to the Government, and the independents aren't really worth worrying about anyway. The Greens have generally had a credible case for presenting themselves as a true Opposition party. They want to watch they don't lose it.