TV debate adds spark to election campaign

The fallout from the General Election’s TV debate today injected new venom between political rivals in the final days of the campaign.

Fianna Fáil claimed Bertie Ahern exposed Fine Gael’s electoral pledges as a con-job, while supporters of Enda Kenny said he showed he has the bottle to become the next Taoiseach.

A total of 941,000 viewers, or 63% of the available audience, tuned in for last night’s RTÉ showdown with just a week to polling day.

More than 580,000 people watched Wednesday night’s heated debate between leaders of the four smaller parties.

Mr Kenny said today, during a canvass in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, that the Taoiseach had thrown in the towel on the health service.

“If people want to change the health service, they have to change the government,” he said.

But Finance Minister Brian Cowen warned that the Fine Gael leader had not clarified what elements of the National Development Plan would be sacrificed to pay for his promised 2,300 hospital beds.

He said: “Last night the Taoiseach not only showed that he has the skills and determination to lead this country forward, he forensically dismantled the entire strategy of the alternative government.

“The people saw the contract exposed as an empty gesture which falls apart when you check the small print.

“We saw our own Taoiseach putting Enda Kenny under scrutiny.”

As the campaign continued today, Labour said it would cap class sizes at 15 in disadvantaged primary schools and at 25 in the mainstream sector.

The Labour Party also vowed take the responsibility of building schools away from the Education Department and give it the National Development Finance Agency.

It will also expand the National Educational Psychologist Service so that children do not have to wait up to two years for an assessment.

Fine Gael has pledged to provide one year of pre-school education for 60,000 children per annum.

The party also called for a register of national pre-school providers.

Progressive Democrat TD Mary Harney seemed to make political overtures towards Fine Gael when she praised Richard Bruton’s “pro-business” credentials.

“He has experience and a track record. He, for one, is pro-business. But there is only one Richard Bruton. We can’t have Richard Bruton in Finance, Richard Bruton in Enterprise, Richard Bruton in Environment, Richard Bruton in Transport, Richard Bruton in Communications and Natural Resources.”

The Green Party vowed to introduce a weekly €40 top-up payment for people with disabilities.

Finance spokesman Dan Boyle said in Co Cork that his party is committed to benchmarking the lowest social welfare payment for a single person at half the average household income.

The Greens also called for urgent reform of An Bord Pleanala to improve public participation in the planning process.

Sinn Féin pledged a new 10-year development plan to preserve and advance the Irish language.

It also pushed for increased use of Irish in the Oireachtas and the teaching of a second subject, like PE or drama, through the language at primary and secondary school level.