Fianna Fáil today again attacked the Opposition parties on the economy by accusing them of avoiding debate on the subject and of "doing a con job" on the electorate.
Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin and Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan continued on from where Minister for Finance Brian Cowen left off yesterday, saying the Fine Gael/Labour coalition's policies would "be bust in three to four years".
Mr Martin said that "all you get from the Opposition is something for everyone in the audience.
Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan
"They've promised 2,000 extra gardaí, there's only enough for 1,000 in their budget. They've promised two-and-a-half thousand extra hospital beds. There's only money for 1,000. It's a con job," Mr Martin claimed in Dublin today.
He also accused the Opposition of being arrogant for thinking "they're already in government and spending the spoils before they've got their hands on it".
Mr Brennan was even more animated in his attack on the Opposition, refusing to accept that the election campaign was going badly for Fianna Fáil, despite the latest opinion poll. That poll found the party's support down three points to 35 per cent since April, with support for Fine Gael up by the same number of points to 26 per cent in the same three-week period
"This will be a very close election. There is a real choice between the parties. For the Irish people this is a deadly serious choice," he said.
"We're asking the people of the Republic of Ireland which team do they think is better for creating wealth."
Mr Brennan said he expected that the outgoing Fianna Fáil TDs would retain their seats. "My prediction is that Fianna Fáil will have a better result than is predicted on any front page today," said Mr Brennan.
On his party's policies, Mr Martin said Fianna Fáil would aid future employment in the small business sector by continuing and enhancing the business expansion scheme and the seed capital scheme to help small and medium enterprises to move quickly at start-up and expansion stage.
"We are proposing innovation vouchers and knowledge acquisition grants which will enable SMEs to develop and bring to market new products on the basis of advanced research. We are also proposing that all institutions who receive research funding develop a more active programme of engagement with SMEs," he said.