Fianna Fáil have promised to "permanently" end hospital waiting lists for elective surgery within two years, a proposal the Labour party subsequently branded "phony" and Fine Gael called a "lie".
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, pledged this morning to provide 709 new beds by the end of this year and a total of 3,000 beds during the lifetime of the current health strategy.
The full implementation would cost €5 billion in capital spending and €3.8 billion in current spending over the next five years, he said.
He added that his party was the only one "being honest" in terms of its health proposals, as they were providing full details of how much their plans will cost. He claimed Fine Gael would spend 70 per cent less on health than his party. "If they claim our figures don’t add up, how in the name of God to they expect theirs to?"
Labour’s position was "bizarre and inconsistent", Mr Martin alleged, adding that they would close many local hospitals and could not back up their pledges with realistic costings.
Mr Martin told this morning's press conference, however, that if he, as Minister for Health in the next government, failed to meet his targets, it would not be a resigning matter.
He conceded that all costings were dependent on the economy doing well, and they would be "difficult to implement" if ecomony experiences a sharp downturn.
Fine Gael's Mr Gay Mitchell described the Fianna Fáil proposals as "big a lie as the promise of zero tolerance was 5 years ago".
"What they are promising is absolutely dishonest and a cynical con trick given their scandalous record of failure to deliver on the last set of electoral promises.
"The Taoiseach arrogantly said that no-one could solve the health service crisis other than themselves because 'they have the money'. They have certainly had more and spent more the taxpayers' money over the past five years, but what have they done with it?", Mr Mitchell asked.
Later, the Labour Party slated the Fianna Fáil policies as an attempt by the Government to deflect the campaign away from its record by confusing the electorate with economics.
In their own health proposals, Labour said they would provide free GP cover to all, and abolish the distinction in care under the current "two-tier" system by introducing universal health insurance. The State would pay the premiums for those on lower incomes.
Health spokeswoman Ms Liz McManus claimed the Irish system was so unfair that if public patients were black and private patients were white, the country would be justifiably accused of racism and apartheid.
She said it would be impossible, as promised by Fianna Fáil, to tackle waiting lists for public patients without "the kind of structural reforms we are proposing".
"Micheál Martin is simply recycling old ideas without explaining why, when they had the opportunity, Fianna Fáil blew it", said the party deputy leader Mr Brendan Howlin. "He clearly resents spending what he seems to regard as ‘his’ money on a good quality world-class health service."
Mr Howlin said Labour would introduce insurance cover to all citizens for essential care comparable to VHI’s Plan B option. "Currently, 45 per cent of people have the system we are proposing," he said.
Under its strategy, Labour also promised to invest in community health care and outlaw human cloning.
