Parties launch plans for taxes and spending cuts

Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin have launched their plans for the economy if they get elected into Government in the General Election.

Fine Gael said it has the plans to create tens of thousands of jobs in the economy over the next five years.

No direct tax hikes on jobs or enterprise, increasing competitiveness and the sale of State assets all form part of the plan.

The lower rate of VAT would be cut, but the higher rate would go up by 1% from next year - a plan Fianna Fáil said would hurt economic growth.

Labour is calling for an even split between tax increases and spending cuts as part of a €7bn adjustment plan to reduce the national deficit to 4.8% by 2014.

Unveiling its fiscal strategy, the party said budgets must be based on "surgery not butchery" to allow the economy room to recover.

Sinn Féin has launched a €7bn, 10-point plan for job creation.

The party's vice president and General Election candidate for Dublin Central, Mary-Lou McDonald said the priority for any incoming Government has to be job creation and retention.

Sinn Féin said it would transfer €7bn from the National Pension Reserve Fund for its stimulus package.

They said the money should be used over the next three and a half years to create jobs in the agri-food sector, through the construction of infrastructure and by assisting small businesses.

Sinn Féin is proposing that 100 primary healthcare centres be built along with 125 schools and 100 creches.