Fine Gael and Labour today attacked the Government claiming its failure to deliver quality public services was undermining living standards.
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD with from left; Brian Cowen, TD Minister for Finance, Mary Coughlan,TD Minister for Agriculture and Food and Mary Hanafin,TD Minister for Education and Science, at the Fianna Fail Parliamentary Party Conference 2005 in Co Cavan
At a meeting in Mullingar today, the parties unveiled plans to work together on a project to tackle what they say is the waste of public money by the current Government.
The programme, which will be run by deputy Fine Gael leader Richard Bruton and Labour's deputy leader Liz McManus, is designed to address what the parties described as "a shocking litany of waste".
The move was denounced by the Taoiseach who claimed his party would win the next election because its record in government was better and "its plans for the future were real and costed".
Speaking at the launch of Fianna Fáil's annual two-day parliamentary party meeting in Cavan, Mr Ahern said he wanted to build a society "where prosperity is used to provide not just better jobs, but a better life".
The Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern described the Fine Gael/Labour pre-election pact as an "axis of taxes".
He said: "We maintained that prosperity through the worst global economic downturn in thirty years. The next election will be about defending that prosperity," he added.
After today's meeting in Mullingar, Fine Gael and Labour published their first agreed policy document entitled "A New Departure for Social Partnership".
The meeting took place in Belvedere House exactly a year to the day after so called "Mullingar Accord" when both parties announced their intentions to forge a pre-election alliance.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said: "Our work today has been focusing on some of the broad issues which are holding back the development of the economy and the delivery of effective public services to our people.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the two parties were determined not just to provide an alternative government but also a better government than the one currently in power.
Mr Rabbitte said: "We must bridge the gap between Ireland's economic success, and the strain being felt by families in their daily lives.
