There was "no way in the world" that the Eurostat decision to reject Clare and Kerry for Objective One status would affect his support for the Coalition, Mr Jackie Healy-Rae has stated.
"Oh God, I most certainly do not feel let down by the Government," he told The Irish Times. "I can't tag the Government with Eurostat, which is an independent body. I have no reason in the world to blame the Government."
The South Kerry TD, who is one of four Independents on whom the Government relies, said the Government played it very fair. "I can't understand, when their back is to the wall, how Eurostat will defend what they have done," he added.
Asked if his position as "kingmaker" would be damaged, Mr Healy-Rae said that his own voters knew exactly that since he came up here to Dublin he did his very best. As to the exclusion of Kerry and Clare, or the exclusion of the entire package, he wanted to make it crystal clear now that there was no question any more of Kerry and Clare. The package was rejected by Eurostat.
He stated that he had spoken to the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, yesterday "and his words were that it is all to play for yet."
The two Ministers from Kerry and Clare offered no firm reaction to yesterday's developments.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, spoke to the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, who had assured him that the battle for Kerry and Clare was not over yet, a spokesman said.
A spokesman for the Minister for Arts and Heritage, Ms de Valera - who is in Los Angeles - said that she had been briefed on the Eurostat letter. "The Department of Finance will be getting back to Eurostat to ease, or correct, their misapprehensions," he added.
