Government silent on calls for McCreevy to resign

The Government has refused to be drawn on calls for the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, to resign over his alleged "deception" of the electorate on public spending cutbacks.

The Department of Finance and the Department of the Taoiseach said they had no plans to issue a reaction to the resignation calls when contacted by ireland.com.

Yesterday, a secret memo from Mr McCreevy to the Cabinet warning of the need for major cutbacks was leaked.

Fine Gael finance spokesman Mr Richard Bruton this morning repeated his claims that Mr McCreevy had deliberately misled the electorate.

What really rankles with people . . . is that they were fooled, they were had for idiots Mr Richard Bruton TD, Fine Gael finance spokesman

"Three days before the election, the Minister gave a solemn promise that there were no cutbacks planned, either secretly or openly," he said. "Within three weeks, he had a detailed menu of cutbacks on the Cabinet table.

"Nothing happened within those ten or 15 days that dramatically changed the situation, so the reality was that these `adjustments' as he keeps on calling them, were planned.

"What really rankles with people . . . is that they were fooled, they were had for idiots," Mr Bruton said.

Mr Bruton said it was clear from the memo that officials within the Department of Finance had warned repeatedly that spending was way over target and revenues were falling way short, "but the Taoiseach and his ministers partied on".

The Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said the leak illustrated the "duplicity and the sheer dishonesty" of the election campaign by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance.

He said the public "understandably" now feel betrayed by the actions of the Government.

Mr Quinn's deputy, Mr Brendan Howlin, also called for Mr McCreevy's head, claiming the Kildare TD's credibility had now been "shot to pieces".

"[The electorate] know they were conned with absolute deceit in the general election and what was planned was a significant cutback after a splurge to buy votes," he said. "He clearly has indicated that what he said before the election, his firm pledges . . . are worthless".

Sinn Fein's finance spokesman Mr Caoimhghin O Caolain TD said the "deliberate deception" of the public means there is need for a second General Election.

"The secret memos...clearly show that the Minister and the Government as a whole deliberately deceived the public in order to secure office," he said.

"It is inconceivable that the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach did not know the true state of the public finances in the run-up to the General Election when they promised that there would be no cutbacks."