Hidden tax, charges in rival plans, Gilmore says

THE LABOUR leader Eamon Gilmore has challenged Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to say how they would fill a €5 billion “black hole” in their financial projections.

Mr Gilmore, who said he was looking forward to tonight’s leaders’ debates, said “the onus from here on is for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to say how they are going to fill that black hole”.

Mr Gilmore's comments yesterday morning were followed by party finance spokeswoman Joan Burton, who accused Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny of "running away" from the issue on RTÉ's This Week.

She said an analysis by the European Commission showed reaching Fine Gael’s 3 per cent deficit target by 2014 “will require €5 billion more in taxes and cuts than Fine Gael admit”.

Asked about Labour’s tax proposals, Mr Gilmore said he wanted to nail the untruth that Labour would be a high-tax party in government. “The Labour Party is not going to increase tax on working people. The Labour Party is not going to increase tax on people who earn less than €100,000 a year,” he said.

On the other hand, he said, the plans of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were “full of hidden taxes and hidden charges”.

“What are the hidden taxes they are going to impose on people over the next four or five years? What are the hidden cuts they are going to impose on people?

“How many extra teachers are they going to take out of classrooms? How many extra nurses are they going to take out of hospitals? How many guards are they going to remove from our streets? How many county council workers that should be out gritting the roads and clearing drains are going to be taken out of the system?”

Mr Gilmore reiterated his view that the EU-IMF bailout should be renegotiated. “Where are Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael going to get the €5 billion? It is going to have to be renegotiated,” he added. More and more people, including the Fianna Fáil leader, were coming to the view that it could and should be renegotiated, he said.

Mr Gilmore was in Marino, Dublin, to launch Labour’s plan for sporting communities with John Giles.

The former soccer star and pundit said the party plan to build participation “from the bottom up” closely mirrored his own approach to sport. However, he said he was not a Labour Party member and did not even have a vote in the elections. He said he had grown up nearby and was a friend and admirer of a Labour Party councillor and candidate in the area, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin.

The Labour sports strategy aims to increase participation in local sports through funding provided by a reformed levy on betting. The money would be used in a community development fund for amenities that could in turn provide an income stream.

Facilities would include youth cafes, arts centres and facilities for older people.