Don’t let Fianna Fáil come back to haunt us – Varadkar

Minister for Health and Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Leo Varadkar, says we must not let Fianna Fáil come back to haunt us.

Minister Varadkar was speaking as Fine Gael began a new advertising campaign to remind voters of the catastrophic mishandling of the economy by Fianna Fáil and the fact they cannot be trusted to manage the economy.

The advert contains the image of a ghost estate, a stark reminder of the legacy of Fianna Fáil in Government. (Image of advert attached)

“As we approach the election let no one forget that Fianna Fáil brought this country to the brink of collapse, wasting years of prosperity and then mis-managing the crisis when it came.

“Fianna Fáil have no plan for the economy, or job creation, and cannot be trusted to keep the recovery going. They failed in Government and now they have failed in opposition. They have offered nothing over the last five years and have failed to take responsibility for their disastrous record in office. They are a real risk to the recovery and now is no time for risk taking.

“As a result of Fianna Fáil’s disastrous mis-management of the economy, the deficit ballooned to €18 billion in 2010, but we’ve now reduced that to €3 billion. They brought the country to the brink of ruin by building an unsustainable boom on the back of property and debt. Then, when the crash came and they destroyed 300,000 jobs, they made it worse by putting taxes on work, which made recovery more difficult.

“This time five years ago was the beginning of the end for Fianna Fail’s 14 years in power. Less than two months after the arrival of the Troika, Brian Cowen was forced to name a new cabinet of chaos and instability, after a botched reshuffle.

“When Fine Gael came to office we rejected Fianna Fáil’s policies and their approach to the economy, and with the hard work of the Irish people we began the journey to recovery. We have reduced taxes on work and begun investing in key services. As a result of our policies and the work of the Irish people we are seeing economic progress, but we cannot take for granted that stability and recovery will continue.

“Fine Gael has a long term plan to keep the recovery going. Our plan will deliver more and better jobs, make work pay and deliver affordable, sustainable investments in services using the resources from a growing economy and increasing employment.

“The Irish people have worked too hard to get to where we are. We cannot go back to Fianna Fáil’s cycle of boom and bust. The recovery has started, but the journey has just begun. We can’t let Fianna Fail lead us to the brink of ruin again.”