Economic policies:Fianna Fáil has told "outright lies" in its effort to cast doubt among voters about Fine Gael economic policies in the final days of the campaign, Fine Gael's Richard Bruton has claimed.
Mr Bruton said Fianna Fáil "had unleashed a relentlessly negative and untruthful campaign" against his spending plans.
Mr Bruton has been incensed by a Fianna Fáil newspaper advert claiming that only 3 per cent of people would be better off from Fine Gael's tax cuts.
Repeating the charge yesterday, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen backed off somewhat when pressed, claiming that 97 per cent of people would benefit more from Fianna Fáil's policies than from Fine Gael's.
"No matter how much they bluster, the fact is that only 3 per cent of taxpayers get more from Fine Gael's proposals than they would get from Fianna Fáil's," he said, in a statement last night.
Accusing Mr Cowen of "desperate lies", Mr Bruton pointed out that plans to cut the standard rate of tax would benefit all workers, while stamp duty changes would help every homebuyer.
In addition, he said, particular reliefs "for single-income families and those staying home to care for children and the elderly" had been ignored by Fianna Fáil.
"The Fine Gael tax plan helps 100 per cent of taxpayers in Ireland and Fianna Fáil knows it. In the final days of their dying Government, they have moved from misrepresentations to outright lies about our policies.
"The Irish people deserve honesty and hope from their government, not lies and fear - and that's what they'll get on Thursday when they elect a Fine Gael-Labour government."
Fianna Fáil's opening salvoes in the election campaign had initially been guilty of "misrepresentation", but they had now moved "to a deep and cynical lie", Mr Bruton said.
He added: "This election is, above all, a referendum on the health service. Those who believe, like the Taoiseach does, that the health service is world-class, well, they can vote Fianna Fáil. But anyone who believes that Fianna Fáil is a "Can't Do" party should vote for the alliance," he said.
Mr Bruton was joined at the briefing by Labour Party spokesman on enterprise, trade and employment Ruairí Quinn, who was minister for finance from 1994 to 1997.
Mr Quinn said the performance of Fine Gael and Labour ministers in that rainbow government clearly answered Fianna Fáil's charges."We do know that we can work together as a team and government is about teamwork. That is manifestly what we are not getting from the current administration," said Mr Quinn.
Fine Gael's capital health spending, including 2,300 beds, can be financed by a €5 billion contingency fund established under the National Development Plan. Progress could be made quickly, Mr Quinn said. "We have the capacity, we have the expertise and we have ministerial experience, and we have the land."
Hundreds of step-down beds could be provided within months in the old Meath hospital in Dublin, and other State buildings around the country could be converted quickly.
Stressing the need for good public services, he added: "People are wondering what is the benefit of all this economic growth which has been relentlessly pursued if it isn't balanced by services that can only be supplied by the public service."
