Where are FF policies – Heydon

INSTEAD of attacking the Fine Gael-led Government which has brought the country out of the recession, Fianna Fáil should provide the electorate with detailed policies of their own, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Fine Gael TD for Kildare South, Martin Heydon said he thought he might hear or read of detailed policies or plans emerging from Fianna Fáil’s (FF) think-in over the last two days.

“However, there has been none. Apart from the odd populist rhetoric, FF are largely a policy free party. The country has absolutely no idea what they would do in office other than fall back into their old methods.

“Since the 2016 election, FF’s policy output has plummeted with just a handful of papers. They regularly talk of bringing forward position papers but they rarely materialise.

“In March 2017, Micheál Martin said they were putting together a white paper on what a reunified Ireland would mean in a practical sense. Eighteen months on and no paper,” Deputy Heydon said.

“When not attacking the Government’s work on Brexit, FF earlier this year called for a special economic zone for the north. How will this work? Nobody has a clue as we’re still waiting for FF to slowly tease this out – with just weeks to go to a key Brexit summit.

“When attempting to adopt positions and not personally attacking Government ministers, FF proposes populist spending at every juncture. Each week, they promise hundreds of millions in extra spending to every interest group in the country. Uncosted plans. Clearly, a lot learned since they were last in Government Buildings.”

Deputy Heydon, Chairman of Fine Gael’s Parliamentary Party, said FF has recently tried to criticise the Government’s record on rural Ireland “while blatantly ignoring the facts that they closed the Garda training college in Templemore, crashed the rural economy, led to mass emigration, shut 629 post offices and launched a failed spatial strategy before almost immediately abandoning it.”

“What is FF’s aim and where is their substance? To throw cash at every issue that comes before them.

“Why can they not give detailed plans to the public to dissect and decide for themselves? Fine Gael’s position in each department or social issue is clear. The country won’t be fooled by an empty vessel in the shape of FF,” Deputy Heydon said.

ENDS