Fianna Fáil is causing division and conflict by forcing through controversial budget plans slashing public spending, the Labour Party claimed today.
Leader Eamon Gilmore said the senior coalition party was determined to pit the private and public sectors against each other and see certain workers demonised.
Accepting the need for the Government’s projected €4 billion savings, the Labour chief said he would be tabling alternative proposals to kick-start the economy.
Mr Gilmore said: “The Fianna Fail approach is simple - it’s called beggar my neighbour.
“They have chosen to sow division and to engender conflict. To set private sector against public sector, employed against unemployed. To identify particular groups in society, to demonise them, and to target them.”
As the country braces itself for a potentially crippling one-day national strike later in the month over cuts to pay and services, Mr Gilmore said the Government must acknowledge that workers have already suffered wage reductions.
“I can tell you now, that if, in bad times, you walk all over people, if you trample them down rather than negotiate with them, then, in better times, they will get their own back,” he said.
Mr Gilmore unveiled five alternative proposals to kick-start the economy, including a jobs strategy and a guarantee that people having difficulty repaying their mortgages will not lose their homes in the recession.
The party also called for a negotiated deal on how to cut the public sector wage bill and a commitment from trade unions that no strike action will be taken if all actions are followed through.
However, at the Fianna Fáil national youth conference in Co Donegal, the Taoiseach said Opposition parties would have the chance to outline their proposals at a pre-Budget outlook in the Dáil next week. Brian Cowen said alternative proposals put forward by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and Mr Gilmore lacked detail.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that Deputy Kenny and Deputy Gilmore are strong on rhetoric but short on specifics,” Mr Cowen said. “It’s time for them to park the soundbites and to be honest with the people as to what exactly is their budgetary policy.
“We look forward next week to seeing Fine Gael and Labour set out a realistic framework for achieving the adjustments that must be made.
“Such a positive and constructive contribution would be a welcome change from the usual predictable and partisan criticisms emanating from the Opposition benches.”
Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe said the Labour leader's desire not to see social welfare targeted is unrealistic. Earlier in the week, Mr Gilmore berated the Taoiseach for not rowing back on plans to axe the social welfare Christmas top-up.
“Mr Gilmore says he accepts that we need to save €4 billion this year — but he rules out touching the 21.3 billion euro social welfare budget,” Mr O’Keeffe said.
“More than that, he wants to restore the Christmas bonus at a cost of €223 million without saying where the money would come from. What’s needed now is a sense of realism from the Labour Party about how €4 billion in savings can be found.”
Some 65,000 teachers yesterday voted in favour of strike action later in the month. Nurses also voted four to one earlier in the week for a walk-out.
The Minister for the Environment today said he understood the reaction to the proposed budgetary cuts but defended the Government's strategy.
Speaking on RTÉ today, John Gormley said: "I understand people have to watch out for their own livelihoods . . . but the cuts required, that's very difficult to achieve . . . we're going to have to look to pay as well."
However, social campaigner Fr Peter McVerry has claimed that the Government’s approach to dealing with the current economic crisis is marked by a lack of fairness and an unwillingness to ask the wealthy to contribute in proportion to their resources.
Writing in the November 2009 issue of Working Notes, the journal of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, Fr McVerry says the Government approach reflects the reality that people who are poor or vulnerable have little or no influence on policy, and those who make the decisions reflect the views and interests of the better-off sections of society.
Additional reporting PA