THE Green Party reaffirmed its commitment to stay in coalition with Fianna Fáil at a special members' convention in Dublin yesterday.

Party members will make no decision on the party's future in government until the review of the programme for government is completed in the autumn.

Around 350 members attended yesterday's convention in the Hilton Hotel at Charlemont Place where the party discussed the review of the programme for government and the party's position on the second Lisbon treaty referendum.

Communications minister Eamon Ryan told reporters, "We are in government during tough times but we are a tough party too. We are also good at talking to each other, and listening to each other to see what we can do better and do differently and the more we do that, the better we will be in government. "We are determined to do in the national interest what has to be done to get us out of these circumstances and I think we can do it. By turning our country green we can get out of this economic difficulty and prepare for a future where sustainability will have to be centre stage."

Talking about the party's recent disastrous local election result where most of the party's councillors lost their seats, Ryan compared it to "getting dumped by your girlfriend".

"It is difficult when you have worked really hard and then you don't get elected... that doesn't mean you stop."

Ryan declined to go into any specifics about the Greens' demands during the review of the programme for government and said, "We are not going to be prescriptive in terms of making decisions now that have to come in the December budget."

The party also debated their position on the second Lisbon treaty referendum yesterday. Before the first referendum the party narrowly failed to get the two-thirds majority needed to commit the party to formally support the 'Yes' side.

See Page 12