Details of programme for government published

The Government has published the programme for government agreed in negotiations between Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats in recent days.

The document contains commitments to remove all those on the minimum wage from the tax net and to reduce corporation tax on a phased basis.

Fianna Fail will also gets its National Development Finance Agency, despite accusations throughout the general election campaign that this was merely a smokescreen to hide government borrowing.

A National Transformation Fund will also be established to speed up major infrastructure projects.

Elsewhere, the PDs appear to have backed down in their opposition to the National Stadium project, with both parties now committed to a “world-class stadium”.

The programme for government also contains a wish to negotiate a new partnership agreement to follow the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and a commitment to increase old-age pensions to €200 per week and social welfare to €150.

Fianna Fail and the PDs have also agreed to recruit 2,000 extra Gardai, to reduce class sizes in Irish schools and to fund the upgrading of all school buildings which do not meet modern standards.

The key points are:

* A commitment to keep down personal taxation, even though the tax-cutting trend of recent years is unlikely to be followed

* The creation of an independent police inspectorate with the same powers as the existing Ombudsman

* The establishment of an agency to fund infrastructural projects through public-private partnerships

* The development of a ‘‘cost-effective’’ national sports stadium

* An increase in the rate of repatriation of failed asylum-seekers

* Greater regulation of the motor insurance industry

* The provision of more hospital beds

* Drug law changes.