Political analysis:The parties' message is clear: return the Coalition to let the good times last writes Stephen Collins.
The pomp and circumstance surrounding the launch of the National Development Plan in Dublin Castle yesterday was clear evidence that the Government regarded the occasion as a key stage in the build-up to the general election campaign - and the reaction of the Opposition parties showed that they regarded it in the same light.
The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance hammered home the message that while things have never been so good, the NDP will ensure even better times are on the way. The implication was that the good times will only continue to roll as long as Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats are returned to office to keep the plan on track.
While the Taoiseach played down the electoral implications, Tánaiste Michael McDowell was not nearly as reticent. Later Labour's finance spokeswoman, Joan Burton, described the 300-page document as "perhaps the longest election leaflet in the entire history of the democratic world".
The question, though, is whether the plan will really impinge on the consciousness of the voters to the extent of influencing the course of the campaign. The figures for total spending in the period 2007 to 2013 are just so vast, at €183.7 billion, that most voters may find the whole thing too difficult to comprehend.
Then there is also the difficulty that many of the spending programmes in the NDP have already been announced over the past couple of years, with new ones added to make up the final product. The result is confusion about what is new and what has been announced already in areas like transport, energy policy, childcare and cross-Border initiatives.
On the other hand the sheer scale of the spending plans right across the country is bound to give TDs in both Government parties plenty of material with which to impress voters. On one level it can be about specific developments in the economic infrastructure in their own constituencies as well as the national scale of the ambition to deal with issues like social inclusion and the social infrastructure.
Describing the NDP as "another milestone on what has been an extraordinary journey of sustained national achievement and during which time it has been my great privilege to serve as an active participant in our vibrant public life", the Taoiseach was clearly staking a claim for the importance of his own role and that of his Government in the creation of the prosperous Ireland of today.
He pointed to the fact that only two decades ago the State wallowed in emigration, joblessness, inflation and high taxation, in stark contrast to the position today. "We are at a point in our national history where we have never been able to see more clearly the possibility of our full potential. And we should aim to settle for nothing less," said Mr Ahern, implying that only with Fianna Fáil continuing in power would that potential be achieved.
Fine Gael's finance spokesman Richard Bruton countered by saying the NDP was not a gift from Fianna Fáil and the PDs. "Every family in Ireland will pay an average of €120,000 over the coming years to fund it. Its worth hinges exclusively on the value for money of the projects included and their efficient delivery. There is no question about the ability of Fianna Fáil and the PDs to spend all this money. The question is their capacity to deliver value from this spending for those now stuck in traffic jams, or waiting in an A&E department or looking for an affordable house."
Labour's Joan Burton maintained the plan was no more than a collection of party political election promises, "dressed up in the language of national rather than party targets. It should be judged as a political document rather than a public service document because its motivation and timing is entirely political".
Dan Boyle for the Greens queried the assumptions underlying the largest development plan ever to be published and said that only a "complacent Government" would plan over such an extensive period of time and then hedge the plan's performance on international market forces.
"With ever-rising rates of inflation and the ESRI warning of poor value for money, together with external factors such as climate change, energy prices hikes and global economic growth, this plan is set to cost the Irish taxpayer well in excess of €184 billion over the next seven years."
In his speech at the launch of the plan Mr McDowell made a clear reference to the Greens, saying the challenge was to develop in a sustainable manner but also in a way that would meet the needs and expectations of a growing population. "The challenge cannot be met, as some would argue, by adopting an anti-growth and anti-development strategy. Indeed the reverse is the case. It can only be met by an outward-looking, confident and development-orientated society that is open to innovation and change," he noted.
The Government parties in their launch, and the Opposition parties in their reaction, were all clearly in election campaign mode. Much, if not all, of the NDP will probably be implemented, whoever takes power after the election. The question is who the voters will put their trust in to implement it.