FG, Labour must come clean on money matters

NOW that the election date has been set, it is time for the Irish public to make a serious effort to vote intelligently.

It is right and proper that Fianna Fáil is held to account for all its failures in government and for its role in causing the mess Ireland is now in.

But, while Fine Gael and Labour cannot be blamed for the failure of governance over the last 14 years, they can be judged on the issues that they do have control over. Issues such as their secrecy over how they are funded and the fact not one single elected representative, for either party, provides receipts for the expenses they claim. How many Fine Gael and Labour TDs own houses in Dublin, with no mortgage, but continue to claim accommodation costs, how many own the building where they rent their constituency offices, how many take the train but claim travel costs, why is it so many TDs, despite living in completely different parts of the country, manage to claim the exact same amount in expenses to the cent?