Fine Gael and the Labour Party today continued their war of words over economic policy and taxation.
Fine Gael’s finance spokesman Michael Noonan claimed that Labour’s economic policies would cost every family an extra €1,300 a year in taxes and charges.
Mr Noonan also rejected claims by Fianna Fáil and Labour that there was a €5 billion “black hole” in his party's fiscal plan. He cited the analysis by Irish Times economics editor Dan O’Brien, who described the claims as "bunkum". “I don’t need to go down the black hole any further looking for Labour Party personalities because there’s no black hole,” said Mr Noonan.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore this morning branded Fine Gael as the “stealth tax party” and claimed its plans to cut child benefits would badly hit families who were already struggling to survive.
“Child benefit has already been cut, many families are already stretched with reduction in incomes,” he told RTÉ Radio. “What Fine Gael is offering is largely the same type of measures the Conservative Party proposed in Britain which has now resulted in Britain going back into recession again.”
For a second day in a row, Labour ran Tesco-style national newspaper adverts mocking Fine Gael’s economic policies, with the slogan “Fine Gael - Every Little Hurts”. Mr Gilmore denied the ads were a sign of desperation as latest opinion poll findings showed Fine Gael stretching its lead.
But Mr Kenny accused Labour of resorting to panic-stricken tactics. While admitting his party would reduce spending on child benefit, he dismissed the figures being quoted in the ads as “complete rubbish”.
“What we will do is have a universal payment which will apply to everybody,” he said. “In other words, whether they are rich or not, they are going to get some element of child benefit but then you make a cut for those who are on higher incomes.”
Launching his party’s mortgage proposals today, Mr Noonan also pledged to supporters struggling homeowners if elected to government.
He said Fine Gael would oblige State-supported banks to cut costs, including salaries, rather than raise interest rates and renegotiate mortgage terms with householders facing repossession.
“Fine Gael will expect every family and every business to do everything they can to service their debts,” he said. “However, where families and businesses have made best efforts and still are unable to repay their debts, we’ll support them through the recession and help them back to a point where they can manage their debt.”
Fianna Fáil published its policy document on education. The party said it is committed to investment in new primary schools, resulting in additional 35,000 permanent places by 2016. It said there would be no reduction in special needs assistants over the period of its plan and they would be capped at 2011 levels. The party opposes a graduate tax and would cap third-level student fees at €3,500 per family.
Labour said it would make literacy a national cause to ensure no child left school unable to read and write. Education spokesman Ruairí Quinn said his party would spend €88 million annually on strategic educational policies. The party would also reverse the €500 increase in the student services charge and the €200 charge for post-Leaving Certificate courses recently introduced.
Green Party leader John Gormley today called on Labour to “come clean” on the level of social welfare cuts it would make if elected to government. “The Labour Party continues to deceive the Irish public with its cavalier approach to correcting the public finances,” he said. “Apart from hiding €2 billion of taxes and cuts, they peddle the fiction that you can cut over €1 billion from social welfare without cutting basic rates; this is not possible.”
Mr Gormley said his party would not cut basic social welfare rates or the State pension. It would also extend childcare scheme to include all preschool children and introduce refundable tax credits for the lower paid.
The United Left Alliance, which represents a spectrum of political parties including the Socialist Party and People Before Profit, today called for a freeze in interest rates and the outlawing of repossessions.
TG4 said today that over 500,000 people tuned in to at least part of last night’s three-way debate in Irish, which was recorded in Spiddal, Co Galway yesterday morning and broadcast with subtitles in English at 7pm and again at 10.30pm.