Fianna Fáil need to be honest with the public as they flip flop on their reckless spending promises – Burke

It is time for Fianna Fáil to be honest with the public as they appear to flip flop on their recent reckless spending promises,  Fine Gael TD Peter Burke has said.

Deputy Burke, a chartered accountant and member of the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform said: “Recent reporting suggests that Fianna Fáil have produced a very slimmed down manifesto with a General Election on the horizon this year. In complete contrast to their reckless spending calls of recent times, it seems they are now trying to adopt a responsible image, offering very limited spending increases in their manifesto.

“It is high time the Fianna Fáil party was honest with members of the public about their spending calls.  In just the first six months of last year they promised €4.35 billion in additional spending, with absolutely no explanation as to how they were going to fund any of it.

“Now that they appear to be flip flopping on this approach in an effort to look responsible before a 2020 election, the public have a right to know, on which of their lavish spending commitments are Fianna Fáil rowing back? Which of the groups to whom they made promises are they now going to let down?

“Maybe it’s the people paying the prescription charge that Fianna Fáil had to introduce when they crashed the economy, and to whom they said recently they would see it abolished? Or perhaps the people to whom they promised additional home help hours after they slashed those hours during the crash. Or is it on Gardaí numbers, where the party that closed down Templemore and actually stopped recruitment are busy making recruitment promises once more?

“One thing is for sure; it’s the same old Fianna Fáil, you never know where you are with them.  One minute they are promising an exorbitant €24 million a day in unexplained funding. The next minute we see a cynical ploy to convince us all they are responsible. Fianna Fáil, who are once again talking out of both sides of their mouths, simply cannot be trusted.”