THE THREE MAIN political parties are holding their annual ‘think-ins’ in various locations across the country today ahead of the start of the new Dáil term on Wednesday.
Fine Gael holds its two-day meeting in Portlaoise, Co Laois while Labour is meeting in Enfield, Co Meath and Fianna Fáil is holding its annual think-in in Waterford.
Fine Gael and Labour’s annual parliamentary party meetings are likely to hear diverging views on the Budget taking place next month as the coalition parties appear at odds over the scale of the adjustment.
Various TDs and Ministers within Fine Gael want €3.1 billion in cuts in order to reach the deficit target of under 5.1 per cent.
However those in Labour including senior ministers such as Ruairi Quinn have explicitly called for the Budget adjustment to be less than €3.1 billion while leader and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has hit out at ‘austerity hawks’.
Labour’s meeting comes in the wake of a Red C poll at the weekend which showed support for the party at a five-year low.
With the two government parties talking about the Budget that is also likely to dominate the agenda at Fianna Fáil’s gathering.
The party has called for a softer Budget than the €3.1 billion demanded by Ireland’s international lenders. However it has not yet been specific on the figure.
Discussions on the forthcoming Seanad referendum – now just over two weeks away – the new Dáil term, political reform and briefings on next May’s local and European elections are also likely to take place.
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