Minster for Finance Mr McCreevy has responded in a letter to a demand from Fine Gael for a statement on the public finances from the Taoiseach.
Fine Gael leader Mr Michael Noonan called on Mr Ahern to speak out following a series of disappointing reports on the state of the Government's finances and reports of imminent cutbacks on public service spending, including health.
But in an open letter to Mr Noonan, Mr McCreevy insisted no reductions in public services were envisaged this year, and said Fine Gael should publish the costings for its own economic policy plans.
He said: "We believe that sound finances are the core of delivering improved supports and services and hope that Fine Gael is now willing to answer the questions its refused to deal with at the start of this campaign.
"We have always found it difficult to reconcile Fine Gael's insistence that its entire list of promises can be funded within existing budgetary projection, with the entirely contradictory claim that we have left the public finances in poor condition," Mr McCreevy said.
Earlier, Fine Gael’s Mr Alan Dukes said a failure to comment by Mr Ahern would leave him looking "dodgy".
