Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

This is the case in respect of both taxation and services. The Opposition has taken the position that it is in favour of dramatically reducing the deficit but it disagrees with the Government's actions to achieve this objective. This is a perfectly legitimate position. However, what is not legitimate is the constant refusal to offer an alternative set of actions. Yes, there have been many general statements of support for being tough but these are never followed by specific measures which add up. There are many policy soundbites but never a full alternative. This is consistent with the fact that for seven years Fine Gael has refused to publish a comprehensive alternative budget. There have been many documents published with aggregate figures but the hard decisions and a programme by programme basis have been avoided constantly.

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