Fianna F\u00e1il leader Miche\u00e1l Martin has said Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s $24.2bn (\u20ac22bn) spending plan would \u201cdestroy jobs\u201d and again ruled out going into coalition with them in the next government.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in proposes that, if elected, it would increase public spending to spend an additional \u20ac22bn by 2025.<\/p>\n
It also pledged to give away $2.64bn (\u20ac2.4bn) in tax reductions every year, and raise $4.18 (\u20ac3.8bn) in tax increases every year.<\/p>\n
Launching the manifesto in Dublin yesterday, Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald, said the manifesto is \u201cuplifting and fair\u201d.<\/p>\n
Miche\u00e1l Martin criticized the spending plan and said, if implemented, it would threaten the Irish economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you seen their General Election manifesto? They would destroy jobs in this country,\u201d he told RTE radio today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI belong to that school of Fianna F\u00e1il, the party that gave people homes, the party that gave people a free education, the party that opened up this country to the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we have to do it again, in terms of small to medium-sized enterprises, the bread and butter of this economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who set up companies who employ 15 people, 20 people, 50 people. That\u2019s who I want to represent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust look at the Sinn F\u00e9in manifesto, it will destroy jobs in this country with that manifesto.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can not raise taxes by four billion euro without it having an impact on ordinary people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Martin added the economy can not afford to narrow the tax base any further as it needs to guard against potential shocks such as Brexit.<\/p>\n
He again ruled out going into Government with Sinn F\u00e9in and said he \u201cwould stick to his word\u201d on the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you underestimate is the depth and the strength of opposition to Sinn F\u00e9in within the Fianna F\u00e1il party and among the grassroots and among people who still remember what happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople within Fianna F\u00e1il resent the legacy of Sinn F\u00e9in in terms of the garda\u00ed that were attacked and killed and the army.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople come up to me and they say that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s worse is Sinn F\u00e9in has never fully apologized for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey endorse it and they want to change the narrative, and they want to shove it down everybody\u2019s throat that it was a just war and so on.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are people in my party that tell me unequivocally they would never accept going into government with them and then you add to their record in Northern Ireland where they collapsed the institution for three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Martin said Fianna F\u00e1il would \u201cdo business\u201d with other centrist parties such as Labour and the Green Party.<\/p>\n
Asked if he was ruling out another confidence and supply deal with Fine Gael he said \u201cwe should respect the electorate\u201d and wait for the outcome of the election.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald said in response: \u201cWe won\u2019t take lectures from the party that wrecked the economy or the one that made ordinary people pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cSinn F\u00e9in makes no apologies for seeking to give workers and families a break.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe make no apologies for asking banks to pay their fair share in tax, because that is the only way to get the revenue needed to end the trolley crisis, build affordable homes, reduce the cost of childcare, put more Gardai on our streets and tackle climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters in Clane in Co Kildare today, Mr Martin accused Sinn F\u00e9in of trying to \u201cwipe out\u201d small businesses out with their economic plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to build up a strong Irish small to medium sized enterprise base in this country and I think the taxation policies of Sinn F\u00e9in would wipe it out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty two billion euro worth of expenditure \u2013 we were told there is only 11 billion euro available to spend\u2026so in my view, their planned policies do not add up at all and I think it is extra-ordinary manifesto which I think all economists are saying is in no way sustainable and I think it would damage the economy and is quite dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand how our economy works as a former business minister in terms of attracting business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe export over 90% of what we produce to other countries. We need enterprise to thrive and not to suffocate them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would someone grow their business if they are going to be clobbered to an extra-ordinary degree by the kind of taxation proposals that Sinn F\u00e9in are proposing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a war of words, this is very fundamental in terms of how our economy is going to work in a globalized world.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to earn income and wealth by channeling our goods and services abroad and that is what attracts business and companies to Ireland.”<\/p>\n