FF ad dismisses PDs’ role in budget

THE strained relations between Fianna Fáil (FF) and the Progressive Demo-crats (PDs) took another turn for the worse yesterday, when the FF director of elections in Limerick East put out a newspaper advertisement dismissing the role of the junior government partner.

The advertisement, carried in local newspapers, has pictures of the three constituency candidates: Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea, outgoing TD, Peter Power, and councillor, Noreen Ryan.

The advertisement contained the following message: “Beware parties now making promises. Beware parties now claiming they gave increases in recent budget.”

FF director of elections, Jack Bourke, who drew up the advertisement, said he wanted to dismiss claims by the PDs that they were instrumental in getting pension increases and other increased benefits in the recent budget.

Mr Bourke, who is a former mayor of Limerick, said: “It was the Minister for Finance who gave these increases. The Minister for Finance is not a PD, he happens to be Brian Cowen, a member of Fianna Fáil who gave these increases.

“The PDs are going around claming they gave these increases. But it wasn’t them. And I am telling voters in our advertisement to beware such claims.

“We are the only party that has given this huge increase in pensions. Fianna Fáil did it and that is all we are saying to the people.”