A meeting between the main political parties broke up tonight without agreement on an independent assessment of the economic predictions contained within their election manifestos.
The lack of consensus was the only issue made clear after the meeting, which took place in a Dublin City centre hotel.
In statement Fianna Fáil’s Mr Seamus Brennan TD said his party had offered to publish financial details of its spending plans in full, but that the other parties are not willing to publish the same details.
"People have the right to know exactly what Parties will fund and what impact these will have on the economy," said Mr Brennan.
A Fianna Fáil spokesman said: "We stand over our sums 100 per cent, but it seems we are the only ones."
But Labour claimed Fianna Fáil’s refusal "to entertain examination of their proposed cuts in spending between 2005 and 2007" had led to the breakdown of this evening discussion.
In a statement the Labour said: "No names of independent experts were canvassed, because the meeting could not agree on a terms of reference for any such group of experts to examine the party's projections."
It said the party was willing to submit its figures to independent assessment and that all its costings have been published.
Labour's General Secretary, Mr Mike Allen, said in the statement: "The assessment published in today's Irish Timesshows that Labour's figures stack up, and we have already published costings of our pledges'.
The Irish Timescommissioned Goodbody Stockbrokers to conduct the report which showed Labour and the PDs spending plans were the most "prudent" of the documents.
Goodbody calculated that day-to-day spending by government departments would be more tightly controlled under Labour and the PDs. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have both questioned the findings.
This evening Labour said it was time to move on to real issues like health and housing, saying it now was up to the people to decide.
A spokesman’s for the Progressive Democrats said the parties different budget strategies were discussed but that no agreement had been reached. He declined to comment further.
While Fine Gael said the meeting was a "cynical ploy" by Fianna Fáil as they knew their proposal could not be achieved.
Fine Gael’s Director of Elections said in a statement: "Fine Gael stands over its economic projections which underpin its party manifesto. These projections have been vetted by the Department of Finance.
"The variations in political philosophy and policy the parties made it impossible to reach a common understanding on a common starting point," he said.