Updated 1.02pm

FIANNA FÁIL HAS described Michael Noonan as a “lucky general” at the launch of the party’s pre-budget statement this morning.

The party was putting forward its proposals for a spending package of €1.45 billion when finance spokesperson Michael McGrath said the government had “very little to do with” the recovery in the economy.

“Michael Noonan is being held up as some kind of economic messiah, I don’t buy that,” the deputy said.

Michael Noonan took Brian Lenihan’s economic plan, made a few tweaks to it, the plan is working now and he’s claiming the credit. That’s just not credible.”

As part of Fianna Fáil’s alternative budget, the party proposes tapping Nama for €200 million next year for the development of “unfinished housing units and unfinished housing estates”.

Fianna Fail wants Nama to pay for improvements to unfinished housing. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The overall plan suggests a number of measures to help deal with the housing crisis including increases in rent allowance and the dividend from Nama to help increase the housing stock.

The plan proposes that this €200 million dividend would be paid next year and has “the specific purpose of funding the completion of unfinished housing and the increase of the overall housing supply”.

Fianna Fáil also wants this to be supplemented to the tune of €100 million in dividends from the “commercial semi-state sector”.

The party says there is precedence for this proposal with the government instructing the ESB and Ervia to make a social housing dividend payment of €250 million last year.

Added to this proposed capital from Nama and the semi-state sector, the party says that €1 billion should be taken from the Strategic Investment Fund and ‘immediately allocated for the construction of social housing’.

Both would go towards improving unfinished properties and making it available for social housing, the party proposes.

The plan says that their spending is “prudent” in the current economic climate, acknowledging that the public finances are looking better but giving the government little credit for it.

“The government is claiming 100% of the credit even though in truth they’ve had very little to do with it,” McGrath said.

“Michael Noonan has largely been a lucky general in finance and is claiming credit for a plan which he denounced in opposition.”

Housing

The party is also proposing a number of other housing measures including:

• An increase in the cap on rent supplement of 5-15% depending on location.
• A new ‘tenant purchase scheme’.

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