THE Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, has described Fine Gael's tax proposals as "flimsy".
He accused the Taoiseach of resurrecting his "fiscal transparency act", by recalling a discussion document on controlling the national finances which he published in the 1980s.
He was minister for finance twice and Taoiseach once since that time and he did nothing about it. The basis of his party's current proposals are questionable on the grounds that they contain no fixed expenditure increase over the next five years."
Mr Ahern, who was speaking to journalists during a tour of the Longford Roscommon constituency, said it was not possible to decide on expenditure and revenue, as well as controlling the current budget deficit and Exchequer borrowing requirement, if a nominal percentage increase was not set in the first place.
He added that Fine Gael was talking about bands and allowances when the emphasis should be on getting as many people as possible on the standard rate.
Sixty per cent of taxpayers are currently on the standard rate, so bands do not affect them. Rates and allowances do." He challenged Fine Gael to say how it would finance its plan to cut PRSI, adding: "We have stated that we will protect the integrity of the social insurance fund because of its importance to workers".
Mr Ahern said that in office Fianna Fail would set up an independent science based food quality authority, to guarantee food safety and quality. It would be structured to play a credible role in restoring consumer confidence in Irish food on national and international markets.
Among his first tasks as Taoiseach, he said, would be to spearhead a political, diplomatic and marketing drive to regain vital lost markets for Irish farmers.
On the peace process, the former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, who joined Mr Ahern on the campaign trail, welcomed the contacts between the British and Irish governments and Sinn Fein. "I am glad people are talking, although the Irish Government seemed to change its mind a lot in recent days."
He said he was not surprised by Mr Tony Blair's decision to initiate contact with Sinn Fein. "He has a huge majority, and he is not beholden to anybody. Mo Mowlam has made the same sort of positive noises since she became Northern Secretary. I spoke to her recently in Belfast, and I got the impression that she is very anxious to see a breakthrough in the situation."
Asked if he envisaged a role for himself in the peace process, if Fianna Fail is returned to power, Mr Reynolds said that was a matter for Mr Ahern.
