War of words over means test move

The Coalition will be destabilised if the Labour Party persists with attempts to means test farm and other capital assets for college grants, a Fine Gael backbencher has warned.

Waterford TD John Deasy threw down the marker after Labour backbenchers stepped up their drive for the measure, which they say would ensure the payments are made to those who need them most. He accused Labour of playing political games by pursuing a measure that wouldn’t affect them electorally because self-employed people and farmers were not among their voter base.

“Everyone is mystified as to why they are pushing this right now,” he said, adding that most of the Fine Gael parliamentary party were in agreement with him.