Expenses scandal puts focus on Irish govt stability
* Greens want expenses reform included in new plan for govt
* Greens vote on Oct. 10 on continuing in power
* Speaker of parliament to resign over travel expenses
DUBLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Ireland's prime minister came under increased pressure on Wednesday to convince his junior coalition partners to stay in government after an expenses scandal that forced the speaker of parliament to resign.
John O'Donoghue's decision to step down next week after weeks of media revelations about some 90,000 euros ($132,600) in foreign travel costs since becoming speaker in June 2007 has prompted the Green Party to demand a shake-up of the expenses system.
The party is holding talks this week with premier Brian Cowen's ruling Fianna Fail party about a new programme for government.
Green Party members will vote on the programme on Saturday and if the motion fails it would trigger a snap general election which would see Cowen's "bad bank" plan to rescue Irish banks binned and likely bring a coalition of the centre-right Fine Gael party and the left-wing Labour party to power.
"We need a complete overhaul of political expenses," Ciaran Cuffe, one of six Green parliamentary members, told the national broadcaster, on Wednesday.
"Unless we get a clear result on this issue for our members on Saturday I don't know if we can get a deal."
"Will we be in or out next week? I think it's a very tough call."
Most analysts expect the Greens to agree to a new programme for government and pass a separate vote on a "bad bank" plan to purge lenders of 77 billion euros of risky property assets but some members are unhappy about the party continuing in such an unpopular administration.
All Green motions needs to be passed by over two thirds of members and last year only 63 percent voted to support the EU's reform treaty, meaning that the left-wing party could not conduct an official campaign in last year's referendum.
SIGNIFICANT CONCESSIONS Continued...
