The Taoiseach has said his party's election programme is based on conservative economic forecasts to allow for continued "stability, responsibility and low taxes".
A proposed new State agency would oversee the financing of major infrastructural projects by raising money through borrowing and other means, he said. But he insisted there would be little or no deficit and there would be no return to large-scale borrowing.
He said he believed the proposed National Development Finance Agency could raise €2 billion. "In some cases it might be through bonds, in some cases it might be through borrowing." He agreed that the proposal to have the agency issue bonds would amount to borrowing in some cases. He said that in the case of a toll road or other project that made a return, the bonds would not be considered borrowing. "But if you are talking of a school or a hospital, yes it would."
He said there was an advantage in this method of borrowing in that it would not all impact negatively on the government balance sheet, but this was not the main reason the party was putting it forward. "Primarily the advantage is that we will get work done more efficiently", Mr Ahern said.
Asked if he was he committed to investing €13 billion over 10 years in the health services, he said: "We are totally committed to the national health strategy." He was committed to spending about "a billion pounds" a year on capital spending on health, and over €4 billion on current spending.