The Government will serve its full term in office, regardless of the result of Friday’s local, by-election and European elections, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said.
“There is some suggestion from the Opposition that you change the government depending on how you vote on Friday,” he said.
Urging voters to make “rational decisions”, he said Ireland is choosing the best local councillors and MEPs that it can find on Friday, not picking a new government.
“After these elections are over the Government will continue to implement the policies that are in place, that have the approval of both the EU in terms of our Eurozone membership and which have been independently commentated upon as being in the right direction.
They are working, and they will take some time to implement. We will continue with implementation,” he said.
New Exchequer figures produced by the Department of Finance – which are in line with recent, more pessimistic predictions – show that the crisis is “bottoming out”.
"We ask all our supporters to come out and stick with the party as we implement the policies that are necessary for this country.
“We understand the short-term hardships and implications they are having, but they are in the interest of the country that we pursue them and implement them.
"And that is what we will do so over the course of the next three years until our mandate is sought to be renewed in 2012,” said Mr Cowen, who addressed Fianna Fail’s final press conference of the campaign.
He rejected criticism of Fianna Fáil’s campaign: “We have had a very good and thorough campaign; probably the best canvass that we have seen by Fianna Fáil in local elections in local times; initially a bit slow, but thorough nonetheless.”
