Gilmore in challenge over economic policy

Labour Leader Eamon Gilmore was in fighting form in Dublin today dismissing reports that Fine Gael wanted to be in Government by itself and challenging it and Fianna Fail to say how they would fill a €5billion “black hole” in their economic policies.

Mr Gilmore also said he wanted to “nail” the untruth that his party would increase taxes.

Speaking as he launched Labour’s Plan for Sporting Communities with John Giles in Dublin, Mr Gilmore shrugged off the party’s recent slips in the polls saying the poll “kills off the notion that the election was over and done with before it started”.

“On the basis of this [latest] opinion poll I am sure there are people in Fine Gael who are probably contemplating the prospect that they might be able to form a single party Government.” But he said he was “not sure people in this country want to see single party government”. On Fine Gael’s chances of single party government he said the poll showed the only party capable of catching up, was the Labour Party and therefore it would go all out “to increase our vote between now and polling day”.

Mr Gilmore also challenged the two larger parties to say “how are they going to fill the very big black hole” which he said had been identified in their programmes, by the EU Commission. .

“What are the hidden taxes they are going to impose on people over the next four or five years. What are the hidden cuts they are going to impose on people? How many extra teachers are they going to take out of classrooms? How many extra nurses are they going to take out of hospitals, how many guards are they going to remove from our streets, how many county council workers that should be out gritting the roads and clearing drains are going to be taken out of the system?” he asked.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail had plans “full of hidden charges” and increases in taxes, he said concluding that “the onus from here on is on Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to say how they are going to fill that black hole”.

Repeating his party’s commitment to renegotiating the EU/IMF bailout he said it was quite clear that if there was a €5bn black hole it would have to be renegotiated. “Where are Fianna Fail and Fine Gael going to get the €5bn. It is going to have to be renegotiated. He said since the debate started “more and more people” including the Fianna Fail leader were coming to the view that it could and should be renegotiated.

He refuted a suggestion he had not won the debate with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and was looking forward to two further debates in the coming week.