Stamp duty reform emerged as the key battleground in the election campaign so far which moved up a gear yesterday despite the fact that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern still has not announced a date for going to the polls.
Launching Fianna Fáil's economic policy document in a Dublin hotel, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen delivered a sharp attack on Fine Gael's proposals for major changes in stamp duty regulations over a three-year period, claiming they were "ill-thought-out" and "irresponsible" and would destabilise the housing market. There was a strong emphasis at the Fianna Fáil launch on the need for fiscal responsibility and reducing public debt.
Opposition spokesman on finance Richard Bruton responded in kind by accusing Fianna Fáil of clinging to "a penal tax that has become unfair, particularly for first-time buyers and for growing families".
Pressed on the issue at the Fianna Fáil press conference, Mr Cowen said: "We will do nothing that will disrupt the property market." Closing off discussion, he said: "I am not speculating on the matter, full stop, at this time."
Asked whether the use of the phrase, "at this time", meant Fianna Fáil might revisit the issue between now and election day, a party spokeswoman said: "The Minister made his position clear today and laid out his views on the matter on behalf of the party and I would not have anything further to add to that."
The Progressive Democrats said they were holding to the stance outlined by Tánaiste and party leader Michael McDowell, who said late last year that there was "scope for a significant readjustment of the stamp duty situation as it pertains to homeowners". But the PDs are also highlighting the failure of Fine Gael and Labour to agree a timetable for stamp duty reform.
Labour's finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said Fianna Fáil's overall economic approach lacked credibility: "Even a first-year accountancy student would know that you cannot cut expenditure growth and provide extra services at the same time."
Green Party finance spokesman Dan Boyle said the Fianna Fáil policy "should only be read as an election document with all the characteristics of any other work of fiction". Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald said that, despite unprecedented resources, Fianna Fáil had chosen not to deal with poverty and inequality.
