The development of a number of towns around the State into major residential centres is proposed in Fine Gael's rival national plan, launched yesterday.
The policy document, titled "A Plan for the Nation - Fine Gael's Vision of Ireland in 2010", proposes changes in the key areas of housing, transport, childcare, taxation and the environment and is published a week before the Fianna Fail/PD blueprint.
One of the main planks of the Fine Gael document is the drawing-up of a national residential plan to encourage growth in a number of towns outside of Dublin including Letterkenny, Sligo, Castlebar, Athlone, Tralee, Kilkenny, Portlaoise and Dundalk.
This would be achieved through the expansion of the national rail network to encourage the location of businesses and housing development around the State to slow down the expansion of Dublin.
This expansion would be financed by the issuing of Irish housing bonds, with fixed rates over a 30-year term.
Government services and entire departments should be decentralised along the rail line and the party also suggests Seanad Eireann should be located in a centre outside Dublin, such as Galway, Athlone or Dundalk.
The party said the number of taxis in Dublin should be doubled over the next 12 months, with an increase of 50 per cent in the number of taxis by next May.
Launching the plan, the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said what the State needed at this point was a plan for the nation, and not a national plan in the conventional sense, which was simply a list of projects.
"It should derive from a vision of what Ireland should look like in the year 2010. This comprehensive plan outlines Fine Gael's view of what that vision should be," he said. When questioned, Mr Bruton admitted the party had not yet costed its proposals. However, he said the plan was not simply about projects, but about quality of life for the people.
Mr Bruton said that the party would be working on costs in the coming months and the document would form the basis of the Fine Gael manifesto for the next general election
The plan proposes to increase the State subsidy per passenger journey for Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus on city services from 3.8p to 5p. This should be done only on condition that blocks of bus routes were franchised out to the private sector and more latenight services were provided.
Local authorities should provide a minimum of 15 per cent of the total annual housing output.
On healthcare, Fine Gael wants a new senior hospital doctor grade to eliminate the hospital waiting lists. The doctors, to be known as "specialists", will be above the level of junior doctors and paid a salary equal or above the salary paid to consultants with private practices.
The number of public health nurses will be increased from 1,400 to 2,000.
On childcare, Fine Gael says the working time of parents should be restructured to give a higher priority to the needs of children.
Local authority planning guidelines should include the provision of childcare facilities while primary school buildings should be used for the provision of childcare after school hours, according to the document.
It says child benefit for children under five years of age should be increased to u£25 a week.
On tax, Fine Gael proposes a ££2 billion package of relief measures including taking anybody earning up to £170 a week out of the tax net and the creation of a new middle income tax rate of 35 per cent.
Fine Gael also wants certainty on the corporation profits tax regime up to 2005 and farmers and small productive businesses should be able to avail of the 12.5 per cent corporation tax rate.
On the environment, Fine Gael proposes the payment of income support to farmers to discourage them from keeping large numbers of cattle and other methane-producing animals solely to get cheques in the post for living expenses. The party also supports "green taxes" on non-agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
The party called on the Government to prepare a White Paper on road usage taxes in major cities and urban areas.
The party urges the Government and individual borrowers to convert from variable to fixed rate loans while interest rates are low. And to protect jobs in the event of a downturn, partnership negotiations should seek agreement on profit-sharing in the private sector and on some "revenue-sharing" in the public sector, it says.