The first leaders' televised debate took place this evening after a day on which jobs and health were to the fore in the general election campaign.
In the opening exchanges of the Fianna Fáil and Labour leaders' TV3 debate, moderated by journalist Vincent Browne, Micheál Martin accused Eamon Gilmore of "chopping and changing" his economic policy, adding Labour had signed up to Fianna Fáil's economic plan.
Mr Martin said Labour wanted to tax too much and warned it could not tax the country out of a recession.
Responding, Mr Gilmore said Labour had never signed up to Fianna Fáil's economic plans and charged it was the Government that was chopping and changing policies, to the detriment of the State.
The Labour leader argued the EU/IMF bailout deal required "intelligent renegotiation," adding he hoped this was not the preserve of Fianna Fáil. However, Mr Martin said Labour was proposing further unsustainable borrowings to fund its plans.
The former foreign minister said every decision taken by the Government was a bona fide decision in the interest of those working in Irish economy.
Later, discussing the health service, Mr Gilmore accused Mr Martin of commissioning reports rather than taking action, a charge Mr Martin strongly denied. The Fianna Fáil leader said more people were being treated faster, with better outcomes in what was "the reality" of the health service.
However, Mr Gilmore said his counterpart should take no pride in his role in the creation of the Health Service Executive, which he labelled "a disaster" and accused Mr Martin and his party of having no plan for the future of the health system.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who confirmed yesterday he would not attend TV3’s debate, attended a townhall-style meeting in Carrick-on-Shannon tonight at the time of the broadcast. This event was streamed live on the party website.
Speaking on his arrival at TV3, Mr Gilmore said he was disappointed Mr Kenny was not attending. "I think the people of the country are entitled to hear what leaders have to say, what our solutions are, and to hear them argued out between us. I am disappointed that he hasn't showed up."
Mr Martin said it was a "pity" the Fine Gael leader was not there.
Fine Gael today outlined its plans for voluntary reductions in public service numbers. Enterprise spokesman Richard Bruton said the party was committed to protecting frontline services.
However, he said the public sector needs major administrative and bureaucratic reform and that his party would streamline services by cutting 30,000 staff from the public payroll within four years. This is 18,000 more than Fianna Fáil has committed to cutting.
The proposals could cost up to €1 billion in severance payments, according to Mr Kenny, who said the money would be borrowed.
Commenting on his absence from the television debate, the Fine Gael leader said he expected Mr Martin and Mr Gilmore to “have a good fireside chat”.
Mr Kenny said he looked forward to meeting them in a “five-star debate” on TV3, along with the leaders of the Green Party and Sinn Féin, as well as in the two “three-star debates”, one in RTÉ1 and one on TG4.
Green Party leader John Gormley had written to TV3 yesterday, offering to stand in as a last-minute replacement for Mr Kenny. He said this election was the most important in a generation and issues needed to be thoroughly debated.
TG4 confirmed today it will host a three-way leaders’ debate in Irish on Wednesday 16th. All three main party leaders have confirmed they will take part.
Earlier today, at the unveiling of his job creation policy document, Mr Martin claimed his was the only party with “joined-up thinking” on the issue. He said his party would focus on a number of keys areas, including investment in science, technology and innovation.
“This is a time for decisive action and a time for practical policies grounded in reality. We have to face this country's problems, roll up our sleeves and be prepared to tackle them,” Mr Martin said. “This means working hard to help families, communities, and the people we represent.”
Labour said today it would introduce free GP care for everyone in the State, regardless of their income, within its first four years in Government.
Health spokeswoman Jan O'Sullivan said this will cost €389 million and will be funded by savings made elsewhere in the health budget, including €75 million which will be found from cutting the pay of hospital consultants.
The party also plans to transform rather than dismantle the HSE, reduce staff numbers in the organisation by 7,000 through voluntary redundancies, restore responsibility for the annual health budget to the Minister for Health rather than the HSE, and devolve responsibility for running HSE hospitals to local trusts. In addition it will introduce a system of universal health insurance cover within six years.
The Green Party announced plans to create 100,000 jobs between now and 2020 as part of a "green" recovery. It claims to have a proven track record in the creation of employment, having delivered over 20,000 "green" jobs since 2007.
The party's plans include investments in forestry, home insulation, eco-tourism, electricity interconnection and broadband. The Greens also propose transferring all public services to cloud computing and providing access for the private sector to Government data.