THE Government has been criticised by the chairman of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party, Dr Rory O'Hanlon, for allowing the national debt to grow by £1 billion last year. Dr O'Hanlon also called on the Government to assist labour intensive industries exporting to Britain, because of the rise of the pound against sterling.
He urged that payments owed under the REPS farmyard pollution scheme should he paid immediately. The Government was hoarding cash until a general election, when it would "throw money out like snuff at a wake".
Meanwhile, the leader of the Progressive Democrats, Ms Mary Harney, has blamed the Government for raising taxes at three times the rate of inflation. In a statement, she said by the end of the year, the Taoiseach would have presided over an increase in taxation of £1.5 billion.