Fine Gael, PDs launch election billboards

Fine Gael and the Progressive Democrats launched rival new billboard campaigns yesterday to promote their respective party positions in the run-up to the general election.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said his party's billboard campaign was focusing on the clear failures of the Government in the areas of health and crime.

He added that the next phase of the campaign would involve setting out Fine Gael solutions in door-to-door leafletting, regional public meetings and a national conference in March.

Mr Kenny said that under the current Government, criminals were "literally getting away with murder", while in the health area, billions of taxpayers' money was "being thrown at the problem to no great effect".

"That is why today we are launching an outdoor media campaign that consists of billboards around the country plus bus shelter and Dart carriage posters in Dublin.

"The key message from this phase of the campaign is that Fianna Fáil and the PDs will brazenly try to gloss over their failures in these areas and try to hoodwink the electorate with the message that appears on our posters that, 'Everything is Just Great'", he said.

Meanwhile, Tánaiste Michael McDowell maintained that Fine Gael had failed to develop its own policies or personalities and had been reduced to negative campaigning. Launching the Progressive Democrats' latest billboard, which focuses on the party's record in cutting taxes, Mr McDowell said Fine Gael had never run a negative campaign against Charles Haughey, but had chosen that strategy against the current Government.

"By launching their own poster campaign today, Fine Gael implies that voters can choose Fine Gael. That is fair enough. But, if Enda Kenny has his way, voters won't get Fine Gael - they will get Fine Gael plus Labour, plus the Green Party.

"In short, voters can choose between this Government with a proven record with positive prospects and a Fine Gael/Labour/Green Party slump coalition whose finance minister would be Pat Rabbitte and whose transport policy would be dictated by Trevor Sargent.

"Fine Gael would rather put up 'attack ads' than face up to the dismal implications of this choice for their political prospects," said Mr McDowell.