FG manifesto:Major reform of health services and a restructuring of the tax code to favour the family and those buying their first home or trading up are promised in the Fine Gael general election manifesto published yesterday.
On health, the party promises to provide 2,300 additional acute hospital beds, free GP visits for every child under five years and an extension of medical cards to 100,000 additional families.
The party commits to providing a "better and fairer" health service by ensuring that "the money follows the patient" principle applies.
It says moving towards a system of a universal health insurance is a shared objective of Fine Gael and Labour but this would require a "phased and planned" approach.
On mental health, Fine Gael says it will solve the crisis in the child and adolescent psychiatric services by increasing specialist outpatient teams by 50 per cent. It will introduce a suicide prevention strategy and will build and foster mental health by providing accessible community based services for people with mental illness. Psychiatric institutions which are "inappropriate" and which undermine the dignity of the patient will be closed.
On taxation, the party will cut the standard rate of tax by 2 per cent from 20 to 18 per cent and will index personal credits and bands to earnings. It will also increase the home carers' credit to the level of the PAYE credit, and will increase by €5,000 the point where one-income married couples hit the top rate of tax.
Fine Gael says it will abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers up to €450,000 and will restructure the stamp duty system for other buyers with no stamp duty up to €100,000, 5 per cent on the next €350,000 and 9 per cent on the balance.
To ensure competitiveness, Fine Gael will maintain the 12.5 per cent single rate of corporation tax and the current rate of capital gains tax and will develop a national skills and training system to help increase the skills of 100,000 people.
To address what the party says is "Ireland's descent into a vicious and violent society", it will provide 2,000 more gardaí and promises a new Garda reorganisational structure. The party says there will be improved Garda training and a special grade of "community garda" will be created.
To build an "environmentally sustainable society", Fine Gael says it will establish a department of the environment and energy to co-ordinate climate change policy. Grants will be available for householders who improve the insulation of their homes and there will be a move towards generating 33 per cent of Ireland's electricity needs from renewable sources by 2025.
Excise duty on biofuels produced from all renewable energy crops will be removed.
Fine Gael says it will ensure Ireland's schools, colleges, institutes and universities will allow all children to reach their educational potential. All schools will publish an annual report. A primary and secondary schools "excellence fund" will be established with €100 million put in annually.
In addition, every child entering secondary school will be given a laptop and €4.5 billion will be provided for the development and expansion of first- and second-level schools' infrastructure over the next seven years.
Fine Gael says it will revolutionise broadband access in Ireland and give priority to the extension of access to basic broadband services across the State.
The manifesto says the party will support the establishment of a powerful Dublin transport authority and will create a single regulator for all transport services. It also promises to open up the bus market to competition.
The party promises major Dáil reform with an extension of sitting days from three to four days a week. Fridays will be "real sitting" days with an order of business and question time. There will be a review of the operation of the Freedom of Information Act and the charges introduced by this Government will be rescinded.
Fine Gael says it is committed to increasing the old-age pension to €300 a week. It will appoint a minister for immigration affairs and an agency will be established for Irish abroad.