Government attacked by opposition parties
The Labour Party yesterday documented what it described as the government’s litany of election lies and empty promises.
Party leader Pat Rabbitte further claimed it was the worst government in the history of the State.
“In its first year in office, the government has broken dozens of promises, attempted to distort its record and launched a series of savage attacks on essential spending,” Rabbitte said.
His main opposition counterpart Enda Kenny also accused the government of having unleashed economic havoc on society with its fiscal wantonness.
“The Government has expected the most vulnerable people in our society to bear the cost of their incompetent economic management,” the Fine Gael leader said.
“Since buying their way back to power with the people’s own money, they have scourged the country with a series of random and ill-thought out cutbacks.”
Deputy Kenny added: “The truth is that this government and the word responsibility are complete strangers.”
The Labour Party documents included a leaflet detailing a cutback or broken promise for every week the government was in power along with an analysis of the government's ‘election lies’.
Deputy Rabbitte declared: “The thought that Ireland has to endure four more years of this incompetent, hypocritical and dishonest government is unthinkable.”
Fianna Fáil dismissed the Labour Party’s accusations as hysterical.
Deputy Eoin Ryan claimed it was a desperate attempt by Labour to rewrite history by distorting facts.
“Fianna Fáil remains committed to the programme for government,” Deputy Ryan said, “while Labour has continued to bang the drum of discontent and talk down our economy.
He continued: “While Labour has been wheeling out their constant stream of hysterical accusations, Fianna Fáil has been managing a country which continues to have a GDP per capita which stands at 122% of the EU average, an unemployment rate that is well below the European average and the second lowest National Debt in the EU.”
Deputy Ryan added: "It is typical that the party screaming doom and gloom is the same party that once left us with the highest debt per capita in the world - a whopping 125% of GNP.
“Labour conveniently ignores this Government’s record spend in health, the 9% decrease in crime this year, record funding of €42 million for disadvantaged education and the real fact that we have four years left to meet our targets and objectives.”
Meanwhile the Green Party yesterday called for honesty, equity, equality and long-term sustainable economics in Irish politics.
The Greens said the Special Savings Allowance Scheme should have been capped and the government’s priorities should have been investment in social housing and healthcare.
