Taoiseach sets May 24th as election day

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has set Thursday May 24th as the date for the general election.

He went to Áras an Uachtaráin this morning to seek the dissolution of the 29th dail from the President Mary McAleese. The President then left the Aras for a week-long trip to the US.

Although an announcement has been expected for some time, its actual timing still came as something of a surprise with most politicians and observers believing the Taoiseach would not call the election until Tuesday at the earliest.

In his opening remarks of the campaign he said he was "more interested in attacking problems than attacking people" He said the election was about "Ireland's future, protecting the progress we have made over the last ten years and building on it."

"No one knows what the outcome of this election will be. The people have a real choice and two very different alternatives before them." He said the choice would "frame Ireland's future" and said the "consequences of this election will be felt for many years to come".

The election is expected to be close with an alternative government of Fine Gael and Labour moving into a strong position to win , according to the latest TNS mrbi opinion poll carried out for The Irish Times.

The poll published on Friday shows a big swing to Fine Gael and another drop in support for Fianna Fáil.

An increase of 5 per cent in support for Fine Gael since the last Irish Timespoll in January means that the Fine Gael-Labour alternative is now four points ahead of the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats coalition. If the Green Party is included, the alternative government parties have a lead of 10 per cent over Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.

The Progressive Democrats were first off the mark with the launch of their manifesto in Dublin this morning.

Going under the name 'From Good to Great: Continuing Ireland's Radical Transformation'.the party's manifesto outlines seven key pledges to the electrate.

PD leader and and Tanaiste Michael McDowell said his party would "lower taxes, help families, make stamp duty fairer, reward pensioners, provide better healthcare, be tough on crime and protect the environment".

Speaking at the manifesto launch in the Morrison Hotel, Dublin, Mr McDowell said Ireland had to remain attractive to both outside and domestic investment. "Ireland's current economic prosperity is thanks to the hard work of the Irish people, combined with the leadership provided by experienced, steady government," he said.

Launching Fine Gael's campaign with a walkabout through Dublin, Enda Kenny claimed the current Fianna Fail and Progresses Democrats coalition had a record of failure. He said the electorate knew the Government would not deliver health services that work."They know they won't deliver safe streets. They know they won't spend our money wisely. Their time is up."

The Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte welcomed the dissolution of the Dail and called on the electorate to make a change . He said Labour would campaign on five commitments - including healthcare, education and crime - which, he said, were aimed at improving the quality of life of "hard working families in communities all over Ireland".