Leo Varadkar accuses Sinn Féin of 'business-harming job-killing' policies

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald noted bodies, including IBEC, have conceded that employers' PSRI in Ireland is very low in global and European terms

The Tánaiste, referring to Mary Lou McDonald's belief that consultant doctors do not need a pay increase, said: "The last thing we need now when the economy is trying to recover is a Sinn Féin tax on jobs, and then also today, suggesting that the solution to our long waiting lists is cutting or capping doctors pay and getting rid of the NTPF (National Treatment Purchase Fund)." File photo: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

Leo Varadkar has accused Sinn Féin of putting forward "very scary" policies including "business harming job-killing" tax increases.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party would increase employer PRSI by 4%, but would not increase PRSI for self-employed people.

She also said her party does not believe that consultant doctors need a pay increase and instead Sinn Féin would encourage medics working abroad to return home by providing sufficient housing.

Hitting out at Sinn Féin, the Tánaiste referred to Sinn Féin's abstention in a vote taken by South Dublin council on a proposal to sell council land to a developer in exchange for a development of social and affordable homes.

"We see Sinn Féin politicians opposing housing in their constituencies, including their party leader, based on the idea that there are too many units for single people at a time when single person homelessness is a serious problem.

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"The best we managed to get them to do after a lot of pressure was just to abstain, not to try to vote down 620 new homes in Tallaght mostly affordable and social."

Referring to Sinn Féin's PRSI proposals Mr Varadkar said: "The last thing we need now when the economy is trying to recover is a Sinn Féin tax on jobs, and then also today, suggesting that the solution to our long waiting lists is cutting or capping doctors pay and getting rid of the NTPF (National Treatment Purchase Fund).

"This is a very scary set of policies being put forward from Sinn Féin.  I don't like what they're thinking about when I hear about those kinds of policies," he said at the Fine Gael think-in in Co. Meath.

Ms McDonald noted bodies, including IBEC, have conceded the point that employers' PSRI in Ireland is very low in global and European terms.

“Our proposal, over the course of a number of budgets, is to bring an employer's PRSI up by about four percentage points."

“That still means that we are well below the European average, and we're in or about the global average."