Fine Gael would offer the Irish people "a new deal" in the next election, the party leader Mr Michael Noonan said yesterday.
He accused Fianna Fail of falling into a "Harney/ McCreevy Thatcherite trap" and believing that there was "no such thing as society, only a collection of individuals"
Addressing 500 delegates at a party conference in Carlow, Mr Noonan took the unusual step of invoking the names of former Fianna Fail leaders to explain the type of policies to be promoted by Fine Gael.
He wished to remind the Taoiseach of "the proud Irish tradition captured in the seanfhocal `ar scath a cheile a mhaireann na daoine' - people live within each other's shelter.
"May I be bold enough to remind him of the Fianna Fail tradition of Jack Lynch, of George Colley, of Sean Lemass and of Eamon de Valera. They recognised, as Fine Gael does, that Ireland at its best is a collection of communities."
Fine Gael, he said, was offering the Irish people a new contract, "a new deal, in fact". "The Fine Gael deal is that while we believe that the free market was in the main, the appropriate structure for Ireland, the people must know and be confident that the government will look after them in areas not covered by or appropriate to the free market," he said.
He severely criticised the Government's record on health, education, transport, housing and immigration.
Despite the increase in prosperity, the health system was worse than in 1997, inequalities in education were greater and our road and transport systems had "dramatically deteriorated.
"Gridlock is everywhere on our roads. Our rail system is a disgrace. Dublin Airport is a painful joke."
The Government had also been unable to cope with asylum-seekers. "The long queues, the high rejection rates, the failure to allow them work, say little about our sense of fair play and their sense of dignity."
Homelessness continued to be a serious problem in towns and cities. "The fact that 13 homeless people have died on the streets of Cork since last October is a shameful indictment of the priorities of this Government."
The conference, which focused on the environment and infrastructure, was the first of a number of special regional conferences being organised by Fine Gael as a result of the cancellation of its ardfheis during the foot-and-mouth crisis.
Guest speakers included representatives of the National Roads Authority and the Irish Farmers Association which are currently in negotiations to resolve a dispute over compensation to farmers affected by the Government's motorway building programme.
Mr Michael Egan, the NRA's head of corporate affairs, said the programme was being seriously delayed as a result of the dispute.
However, Mr Francis Fanning, chairman of the IFA's national industrial and environmental committee, claimed farmers were being compelled to give up their land, and in many cases their livelihoods, by "draconian" legislation governing compulsory-purchase orders.
He outlined, for the first time, the IFA's proposals to the Government. It wanted land values to be based on the cost of similar sized parcels in the area and farmers to be paid the cost of replacing farm buildings with new facilities. It was also seeking compensation for severance and injury caused to the entire farm holding and for damage and disturbance caused.
