PARTY CAMPAIGNS:LABOUR LEADER Eamon Gilmore made a final plea that voters should not give one party a monopoly of power because a single-party government would not reflect the broad range of opinion in the country.
In a series of interviews and final statements on the eve of polling today, Fianna Fáil was accused of “peddling untruth” about Fine Gael policies, while Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin appealed to those thinking of voting for Independent candidates to votes for his party instead.
Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin appealed to people who would not normally vote for the party to consider "a strong responsible republican" voice in the next Dáil. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he dismissed the suggestion his party was not transfer friendly.
Green Party leader John Gormley said it was certain that Fine Gael and Labour would be the two biggest parties, and said a strong opposition would be needed in the Dáil to hold the next government to account.
In his last statement of the campaign, Mr Gilmore said there was a need for a fair and balanced government.
“For the past few years many people have watched in anger and frustration at the damage that has been done to our country, feeling powerless to do anything about it.
“Ireland has grave difficulties, but we should never doubt that our abilities are far greater than our problems if we tackle them together, le chéile, as one Ireland.
“As we face the difficult tasks ahead, we need a government that reflects the broad range of opinion in our country. I do not believe it is wise to grant a monopoly of power to any one party.”
Mr Martin, speaking in Cork, said people should reflect before voting for Independent candidates, who are predicted to win between 12 and 20 seats.
“I would ask people to reflect on it [voting for Independents] – I don’t want to dictate to people but in my view, particularly people who voted Fianna Fáil in the past, I would ask them to reflect on that and to give their vote to the Fianna Fáil candidate.
“I say that on the basis I think Fianna Fáil will be a vital force in the next parliament and can make a vital contribution to national policy and implementing the kinds of ideas that will help Ireland recover – we would argue Independents can’t do that.”
Fine Gael’s communications spokesman Leo Varadkar accused Mr Martin of peddling untruths about Fine Gael recently.
“One of these untruths concerns Fine Gael’s plans to sell off non-strategic State assets and plough the funding back into a €7 billion investment programme to build modern infrastructure like broadband and a smart electricity grid.
“Micheál Martin claimed that this proposal was only unveiled this week. Yet when the programme was revised last year it stated specifically that Fine Gael would sell non-strategic State assets, including ESB Powergen and Bord Gáis Energy.”
Mr Ó Caoláin also said later that people who previously supported Fianna Fáil were tending towards his party. “We encourage more to do so. Voters who traditionally supported Fianna Fáil in the belief that they served the nation have the opportunity to support a genuinely republican party.”
Mr Gormley said his party was fighting for the last seat in six constituencies. “Depending on what the voters decide tomorrow, we are ready to work with other parties in government to fix the Irish economy and restore jobs. If voters decide we are in opposition we will constructively oppose the government – but also back them when they are doing the right thing for Irish people.”
