FG: Blunders killed off Celtic Tiger

Massive blunders by politicians, developers, bankers and regulators destroyed the Celtic Tiger boom, Fine Gael’s 75th Ard Fheis heard today.

The main Opposition party’s local and European candidates, buoyed by recent poll ratings, were unveiled to 5,000 delegates at the Citywest Hotel in west Dublin.

As the Government puts the finishing touches to Tuesday’s emergency Budget, Fine Gael called for the National Development Plan to be scrapped and replaced with a new plan focused on projects to create thousands of jobs.

Deputy leader Richard Bruton told the audience that the boom “was destroyed by catastrophic failures by politicians, developers, bankers and regulators”.

Mr Bruton said a lack of Government leadership had let down voters.

On the recession, he added: “This was a massive systems failure, a failure to hold power to account.”

He told delegates next week’s supplementary Budget must boldly invest in a smart electricity grid, broadband for the 21st Century, top quality water infrastructures, bio energy, renewable energy and a low carbon economy.

Transport spokesman Fergus O’Dowd called for a slimmed-down NDP which would front-load labour-intensive projects.

He insisted Dublin’s Metro North light rail system must be built because it could create up to 37,000 permanent jobs and 7,000 posts during construction.

New transport links must also be established for commuter counties such as Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, where 200,000 more residents are forecast within a decade, he added.

He told delegates: “City and county councils select cost-effective infrastructure programmes to stimulate work, such as new bypasses, road repairs, removing of accident blackspots and dangerous bends, improving bridges and providing parking and park and ride facilities. ”

In a televised debate, health spokesman Dr James Reilly said: “The Government allowed the HSE to become a bureaucratic monster that wastes taxpayers’ money.”

MEP Gay Mitchell told the audience: “If this country isn’t turned around, it is heading for Niagara Falls.

“All they had to do was shoot fish in a barrel but instead they shot the barrel.”

Communications spokesman Simon Coveney said the Government was a failed, tired administration without a mandate or a vision for the future.

“The boom to bust situation must never be allowed to happen again,” he added.

Transport spokesman Fergus O’Dowd said the Government can run but it cannot hide from its current problems.

“Fianna Fáil were in power for 18 of the past 22 years. They took credit for the good time and now they must take blame for the bad times.”

Environment spokesman Phil Hogan called for Irish green energy to be marketed abroad like the ’Kerrygold’ brand for butter.

Local election candidate for Cork County Council, Paul Cagney was applauded by delegates when he claimed the Government had created a ’boy-racer economy’ in recent years.

“The flashier the better. The faster the better. And they have driven it into the ground,” he said.

Fine Gael also vowed to develop new policies in land use and spatial planning so that urban communities are more compact and linked to public transport.

“This will involve transforming the proposed Dublin Transport Authority into a National Transport Regulator.

The Regulator will also open up a portion of the sheltered public transport market to private operators,“ Mr O’Dowd added.