Leaders' debate: McDonald comes out swinging as budgetary promises take centre stage

The second seven-way leaders’ debate of the 2020 general election at Virgin Media headquarters in Dublin proved to be a very loud affair indeed.

The debate, chaired by Matt Cooper and Ivan Yates, saw the two presenters making more noise in the first two minutes than had been seen in both televised debates broadcast thus far put together.

It saw Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald come out swinging regarding accusations that her party’s budgetary promises, which include €4 billion in additional taxes and lavish spending on public services, do not stand up to scrutiny.

“Our figures were run by the Department of Finance, our plan produces a surplus of €3.4 billion after a five year term of Government,” she said.

You’re working on the presumption that providing relief for people is reckless, I am not. Ordinary, working people deserve a break.

Micheál Martin himself, when asked had he learned nothing from his 14 years in Government in presenting Fianna Fáil’s own financial plans, said that he had learned “lots of lessons” in working “constructively for nine years in opposition”.

He said that his own party is the only one that has not allocated the entire €11 billion figure in additional funding which the Department of Finance may make available.

“Our priority is housing. Our priority is the issues that matter most to people,” he said.

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar asked Mr Yates “not to put me in the same basket as the others” in terms of financial recklessness, and said that last October’s budget had been deemed to be “prudent” by one journalist.

“Maybe we will have more money, maybe we won’t, but in either scenario who are you going to trust,” he said.

Labour’s Brendan Howlin chose to attack those promising tax cuts, such as Fine Gael itself, as perpetrating a “con job”.

“If we want to fix this country we can’t give massive tax cuts,” he said.