Hello on another chilly November morning on this, the sixth day of the 2024 general election campaign.
While the early days of the campaign were speckled with barbs and thinly disguised digs between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, last night the gloves came off properly.
As we report in our political wrap today, the two parties have become further entrenched in a war of words about economic credibility, as they face off over tax and spending commitments.
So what has happened?
To bring you up to speed: Fine Gael started the campaign on the back foot after Michael O’Leary’s jokes about teachers and Fianna Fáil wasted no time in making them feel the pain. While the teacher comments were by no means a fatal issue for Fine Gael, the whole situation made the party’s candidates feel very jumpy indeed (“do we have feet of clay?” one worried party figure fretted to this writer).
Now, Fine Gael is coming out swinging.
Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe last night accused Fianna Fáil of inflating figures in its manifesto by as much as €5.2 billion. His contention is that Fianna Fáil’s numbers do not add up.
“The costing of the document, which is probably best described as sparse at very best, has figures inflated by as much as €5.2 billion, with no credible explanation given.”
In response, Fianna Fáil dismissed the claims by Fine Gael, saying the €5.2 billion is fully accounted for and challenged Fine Gael to publish its manifesto and costings.
The hostilities between the two parties deepened last night on Virgin Media TV’s Tonight Show.
Minister for Finance Jack Chambers, who worked hand-in-hand with Donohoe on Budget 2025, said that his claims were “disingenuous and misleading”.
Fine Gael Chief Whip Hildegarde Naughton found herself being repeatedly talked over by Mr Chambers as she attempted to respond to him. “You’re talking me down, you’re talking me down,” she said a number of times. Figures in Fine Gael immediately seized upon the Chambers performance last night, with one source labelling it as a “meltdown.”
Opposition politicians have said that what is happening between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil is “handbags”. But it shows that the competition between these two parties, always so fierce throughout the decades, never truly went away. There’s a power struggle there, too, as they jostle for a claim to the Office of Taoiseach.
And on this, Jack Horgan Jones examines whether it is a phoney war between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael or not.
Simon Harris wants to tell you a secret
Taoiseach Simon Harris popped up on Instagram last night to stream a live video where he talked about travelling through 17 constituencies over a short number of days. In between questions about his favourite takeaway (fish, chips, curry sauce) he spotted a question from a woman who asked why third-level fee reductions could not be permanent.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret, yes we will. I think we really need to phase out third level fees.” He later added: “I am going to do that, that is absolutely my intention.”
Meanwhile, as Jack Horgan-Jones reports today, Fine Gael will today publish a new policy promising to pay a higher rate of parent’s benefit to those who have been in the workforce longer. Modelled on an overhaul of jobseekers’ benefit the Government put in place earlier this year, it would see a higher rate of payment for those who take parent’s leave, which will be linked to salary and capped at a max of 60 per cent of your salary, or €450 per week.
Currently, parent’s benefit – which is available to parents of children for a period of nine weeks in the first two years of a child’s life – is paid at a rate of €274 per week. Fine Gael will signal an intention to extend the benefit to other forms of parental leave over time.
Housing continues to be a dominant issue
Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has raised questions over a Green Party policy to reform the Coalition’s flagship Help to Buy scheme – which most Opposition parties say they would scrap, and the retention of which Fianna Fáil has made a red line issue for government formation talks.
The Greens want to include new price limits on the scheme depending on where a property is located, rather than the across-the-board €500,000 price cap currently in place. The party is suggesting using price caps that are in place in the Government’s shared equity First Home scheme.
Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said: “On the face of it, it looks like they are going to restrict people from accessing it, add complexity to a very straightforward scheme which is administered by Revenue and while doing so, create a deep level of uncertainty for prospective buyers.”
Campaign Diary
Former Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall and Dublin North-West candidate Rory Hearne will launch the party’s renters’ charter in Dublin this morning.
The Social Democrats will also today unveil their policy aimed at tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in Ireland. The policy will be launched by Patricia Stephenson, the party’s candidate for Carlow-Kilkenny, and Catherine Murphy, former co-leader.
People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd-Barrett will outline PBP’s election manifesto commitments to protect neutrality.
The Labour Party will unveil its plans for a “new deal for renters” in Dublin.
Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien and candidate for Dublin-Central Senator Mary Fitzpatrick will outline the Fianna Fáil proposals to “get more people back living in the city centres”.
Green Party TD Steven Matthews and Minister of State Ossian Smyth outline the party’s plans to tackle vacancy and dereliction.
Fine Gael will set out its plan to reform childcare provision, launched by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, Fine Gael childcare spokesperson Minister Neale Richmond, and Senators Emer Currie and Mary Seery Kearney.
Taoiseach Simon Harris will be interviewed on Virgin TV at 10pm.
Best Reads
The Green Party is prepared to grit their teeth and re-enter coalition with their newfound foes, says Miriam Lord.
Voters’ choice on rival affordable housing plans comes down to the State owning land or a stake in the home, Cormac McQuinn reports.
Here is The Irish Times view on election promises and the public finances: risky business
Opposition parties rounds on ‘arrogant’ Coalition duo Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael
The latest Election Daily podcast asks: Has Sinn Féin improved its standing with working class voters?
The next government will need ‘new deal’ to support farmers as sector faces ‘huge challenge’, says IFA
What The Papers Say
The Irish Independent reports that Fine Gael will promise a double payment of Child Benefit every August, ahead of children returning to school. The Irish Daily Mail reports that Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has her sights on targeting bureaucracy in the Civil Service. The Irish Examiner reports that the cost of renting in cities is soaring as housing supply remains an issue.
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