Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

-----support sustainable long-term employment and provide a modern social infrastructure. Crucially, the four-year plan will have a key focus on structural reform and making the economy, the public and private sectors, work better.

It is a matter of public record that, over the past decade, the vast majority of Deputies backed lower taxes and higher expenditure. In 2006, Deputy Burton stated there was a massive underspend in health. In December 2006, Deputies Burton and Bruton stated not enough assistance was available to first-time buyers. In 2005, both Deputies called for greater expenditure on social welfare. In the same year, Deputy Burton, in calling for more spending on child benefit, argued that an increase of €20 per month was much less than had been expected. She was also critical of the number of people who were paying tax at the higher rate. Her party now proposes to introduce a new tax rate.

It was not only parties on the opposite side-----

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