Gilmore gale knocks the wind out of Willie O’Dea

The Gilmore gale swept across the Fianna Fáil benches yesterday, leaving chaos in its wake.

It emerged from the inevitable budget storm as Táanaiste Eamon Gilmore took his weekly Opposition Leaders' Questions. Fianna Fáil's social protection spokesman Willie O'Dea accused the Government of engaging in "a masterpiece in spin and public relations'' in its presentation of the budget. He then went on to criticise what he believed to be the inevitable increase in health insurance, the decision to "snatch back'' medical cards and the cut in social welfare allowances.

"In this budget, a measure has been introduced to pauperise the young unemployed,'' said O'Dea. "Is this not a cut to the core social
welfare rate?''

Grim-faced
A grim-faced Gilmore was flanked by fellow Ministers Pat Rabbitte and Frances Fitzgerald. There was no sign of his putative nemesis, Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton, who told TV3's Ireland AM this week that there were "actually a lot of job vacancies''.

Gilmore was not going down that road, insisting instead that the budget was to take Ireland out of the bailout programme. And then he produced the four-year plan published by Fianna Fáil in advance of the last general election, which included a figure of €17.9 billion for social spending in 2014.

The gale gathered
momentum.

'Aggressive and bullying'

"The Government will spend €19.6 billion on social-
protection measures next year,'' said Gilmore.

"In other words, if Fianna Fáil was still in power, some €1.7 billion extra would be removed from the social-
protection budget.''

Gilmore challenged O’Dea to say what measures he would take, and the additional cuts he would make, to ensure the extra savings.

O’Dea said they involved taxing the wealthy, adding the public would be “none too impressed with the Tánaiste’s aggressive, bullying and hectoring response’’.

It was all to no avail. The gale had swept all before it.

With political conditions expected to be turbulent in the aftermath of the budget and in the run-up to next year’s European and local elections, the Gilmore gale is likely to resurface. Burton had better beware if, as is speculated, she challenges for the leadership in time.