McDonald: Govt Budget threat 'outrageous'

The 'No' side in the EU Treaty referendum is accusing the Finance Minister Michael Noonan of threatening the electorate with scare tactics about December's Budget.

Mr Noonan has said a 'No' vote next month will lead to a "dramatically more difficult budget".

The Socialist Party said the Minister is "trying to put a gun to the head of voters".

Also, Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald has said Minister Noonan has "some cheek" and is trying to bully people into voting 'Yes'.

Ms McDonald said: "This Morning Michael Noonan threatened voters that if they didn’t vote for the Austerity Treaty the Government would introduce a harsher budget in December. This is an outrageous statement for the Minister to make.

"The Government has repeatedly said that the Austerity Treaty would have no impact on the Irish economy until after we exit the current Troika austerity programme in 2015.

"Yet this morning the Minister for Finance said he would make December’s budget ‘dramatically more difficult’.

The Dublin Central TD said that the threat was "outrageous" and that "people should not be bullied by the Government".

She said: "Minister Noonan has some cheek given the level of hardship his budget has imposed on ordinary people.

"Clearly the Government is getting desperate. They know the electorate will not support a Treaty that means an extra €6bn in cuts and tax increases from 2015, and so they are resorting to even more outrageous threats.

"Such claims are untrue. They are designed to confuse and frighten people. They are also being used to distract attention away from what is actually in the treaty and the negative impact the treaty will have onIrelandandEurope’s chances of economic recovery.

"People should not be bullied by the Government. They should assess the Austerity Treaty on its content and implications for Ireland and on May 31st vote accordingly

"The Government said it wants an open and honest debate. It is high time that they started to practice what they preach."