NDP blueprint - Plan must give value for money

WITH less than six months to the General Election, the battle for the hearts and minds of voters has been ignited by the highly ambitious National Development Plan rolled out by the Government yesterday.

Unveiled by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, the much leaked €184 billion economic and social blueprint is also an election manifesto calculated to set the political agenda for the weeks and months ahead. It is an adroit stroke, the Government has thrown down a challenge to the opposition parties to come up with ideas and proposals to match this concept.

However, spending estimates for the next seven years are so astronomical as to be largely aspirational. Predicated on an upbeat forecast of economic growth of over 4% a year, the plan goes under the slick electioneering slogan: ‘Transforming Ireland — a better quality of life for all’.