Micheal Martin refuses to rule out a deal with Fine Gael

Fianna Fáil has committed to getting rid of Irish Water and scrapping water charges for five years in its general election manifesto.

At the manifesto launch in Dublin yesterday, party leader Micheál Martin was pressed repeatedly about whether he and his party would do some form of a deal with Fine Gael, but he refused to be drawn on it, or more significantly, to definitively rule it out.

He said such suggestions “bordered on the ridiculous” and said he was not going to be drawn on speculation, but also said his party would act responsibly.

Speaking in detail about whether he would support a deal which would see Enda Kenny returned as Taoiseach, Mr Martin said: “I reject the premise that there can be only one result.”

The party set out its four main priorities: The creation of decent jobs; cutting costs for families and improving services; tackling crime and securing home ownership, and tackling homelessness.

In terms of headline taxation issues, the party is committing to abolishing the Universal Social Charge for low- and middle-income earners up to €80,000.

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“We will invest in services and communities on the basis of a 2:1 ratio of spending to tax reductions,” Mr Martin said.

“Furthermore, we have prepared for future volatility. We were the first party to suggest a rainy day fund and we are the only party to set out a legislative approach to the protection of this fund from short-term political manipulation.”

In relation to calls to repeal the Eighth Amendment, Mr Martin said his TDs will have a free vote. He said he personally is pro-life but is open to other views.

“I am pro-life personally but I am open to the views being expressed and examining them,” he said.

As part of a package of measures to “reduce the cost of living”, the party is committing to the establishment of a €2,000 childcare support credit for working parents as well as enhancing the quality and sustainability of childcare.

The party is also committing to extending maternity leave benefit to 30 weeks and allow for shared leave.

Fianna Fáil is also committing to increasing child benefit by €10 a month.

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The party is also vowing to reduce class sizes to 23 children per teacher.

The party, which lost 58 seats in 2011, has committed to increasing the state pension by €30 a week and the living alone allowance to €15 a week.

Mr Martin said the party will ensure that older people can live independently in their homes for as long as possible.

The Fianna Fáil leader criticised the Government for bringing through “three fraudulent budgets” in the past three years, while committing to reduce treatment and emergency department waiting times.

The party says that it wants to re-balance the health system towards primary care as well as creating a new National Mental Health strategy.

It says it want to increase Garda numbers to 15,000 and the Garda reserves to 2,500, and will seek to toughen sentencing laws, including mandatory terms.

Mr Martin told the party that he wants to recruit 4,000 more nurses to work on the frontline in the country’s hospitals.

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Addressing questions about mistakes made by the last Fianna Fáil government, Mr Martin insisted: “We have learned the lessons from our past mistakes.

“We acknowledge we got it wrong in terms of pro- cyclical policies, but the banking inquiry said the blame was shared across the political spectrum.”

Members of the Cabinet that oversaw the economic collapse will be considered for ministerial positions again if Fianna Fáil is in government, Mr Martin confirmed.

The party leader said that anyone elected to the 32nd Dáil will be in the running for promotion if he becomes Taoiseach — even if they served as ministers in the disastrous Fianna Fáil/Green Party government.