Spring Economic Statement A 'Bitter Disappointment' - FF

The government's Spring Economic Statement has been described as a "bitter disappointment to thousands of families", by Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Public Expenditure, Sean Fleming.

Deputy Fleming called the statement "a complete damp squid".

"It was built up as a major new departure but the Spring Statement amounted to nothing more than a rehash of previous reports and announcements," Deputy Fleming said.

"Essentially two ministers spent an hour saying what could have been said in a matter of minutes.  Dáil business is being set aside for a week to provide a platform for self-congratulation by the government. It is a long way from the democratic revolution promised by FG / Lab.

"Fianna Fáil’s core belief is that spending on public services such as education, health, social protection and childcare is progressive in nature as it benefits everyone in society but particularly those on lower income. However there was no substantial proposal to deal with over 400,000 people on hospital waiting lists, the chronic shortage of beds under the Fair Deal scheme or overcrowded classrooms.

"It is interesting that the Government have also produced forecasts which demonstrate that a balanced budget can be achieved in 2018 even with Irish Water on the state’s book. This is in sharp contrast to the apocalyptic predictions of a 4% rise in tax rates if Irish Water did not pass the market corporation test."

(MH/CD)