FIANNA FÁIL LEADER Micheál Martin has insisted that the finances outlined in his party’s manifesto are based on the Department of Finance’s methodologies and projections as scrutiny over the three largest parties’ manifesto financing continues. 

Speaking to reporters in Castlebar earlier today, Martin said that his party’s figures “do stack up” in line with the projections for economic growth and methodologies from the Department of Finance.

He outlined that Fianna Fáil have “made provision in saying the funds will stay – the future Ireland fund and infrastructure, climate, nature fund – and that we’re putting 50 billion providing for that to one side, to the future needs of pensions and healthcare and so on, and a further 20 billion in respect of existing levels of service.

“So that’s a very significant level of reserves that Fianna Fail have provided for in his manifesto,” he said.

This morning, a story published in the Sunday Business Post that said that Sinn Féin’s manifesto had a “financial hole” of €85 billion if corporate tax windfalls were to recede. The paper also said that Fine Gael have a hole of €56 billion and Fianna Fáil have one of €55 billion over the lifetime of the next government if corporate tax were to dry up, as has been predicted since Donald Trump’s election win in the UK.

Yesterday it was reported that Fine Gael have a €5 billion “black hole” in its manifesto. A spokesperson told The Journal last night that “Fine Gael’s figures are sound”.

Against a series of finance questions levelled at the three largest parties, Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty called on outgoing Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers, to publish Fianna Fáil’s proposed tax hikes. 

The two outgoing TDs fell into a spat on RTÉ’s This Week with Justin McCarthy this afternoon. Doherty accused Chambers of not being honest with the public about Fianna Fáil’s plans to implement tax increases, including hikes on the price of fuel.

When asked by host Justin McCarthy about the Sunday Business Post story, Doherty deflected and said: “First of all, I do challenge Jack Chambers to publish his taxation increases before the election’s out. I think it’s deeply unfair if you don’t do that Jack, because it appears that you’re planning to further hike up carbon taxes.”

The two argued over plans to tax cigarettes and raise carbon taxes. Later, Doherty released a statement asking Chambers to “come clean” on his party’s plans.

“People out there need to understand that if they vote for Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael in this election, that they will be voting to increase the cost of diesel by at least another 12 cent per litre,” Doherty said in the statement.

“Fianna Fáil have presented a €1.57bn tax package, and with six days to go before the election, they still haven’t explained to voters, who are being hammered by the cost of living crisis, which taxes they are going to increase to raise this money.”