McDowell promises no rise in rates of income tax

Labour's finance spokesman, Mr Derek McDowell, has insisted the party will not raise income-tax rates and will honour its corporation tax deal with business.

He told the 300 delegates: "There is no such thing as something for nothing, and the public knows that well".

They could not build roads, have a better health service, repair schools or provide creches without more resources.

But Labour would hold to the 12.5 per cent corporation tax rate for multinational companies, agreed with the EU until 2007, and there would be no income-tax increases.

Criticising both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, he said they had bought into the "something-for-nothing philosophy".

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance promised "the sun, moon and stars, costing billions of euros" at their ardfheis but said there would be no return to borrowing.

Mr McDowell said it was "a racing certainty that any government in power at the end of this year will have to borrow or make deep cuts in spending".

Fine Gael wanted everyone to pay less tax, invest less and get better public services by getting better value for money.

He accepted that more funding did not necessarily mean better services, but equally there could not be better services without more resources.

Labour's pledge-card slogan was "honesty in delivery", and it was "determined to deliver, and we will be honest in telling people what we will do, how we will do it and how we will pay for it".

The whole health service was in urgent need of large-scale capital investment for 3,000 acute hospital beds, for facilities for disabled people and for the elderly.

"All of this will cost money, a lot of money", he said. "We will put it up to Bertie Ahern and Michéal Martin. We will show them the money. We want to see the colour of theirs."

He also pointed to the Boston-Berlin description the Tanaiste had highlighted as the difference between the Progressive Democrats and Labour.

"Boston stands for prosperity and inequality, low taxes and poor public services. A society where you buy healthcare, schooling for your kids, security guards for your neighbourhood, a society where you can buy a good quality of life, if you have the money, and a society where those who don't have the money do without."

Berlin, however, according to the Labour Party stands for "public investment and public services, a society which provides healthcare, education and security to all who need it and not just those who can afford to pay".

Berlin was also a society "which demands of us that we make a contribution to achieving the goals we set ourselves".