Yesterday saw sharp attention paid to the economic policies of Sinn Fein.
I featured on an RTE Radio 1 Drivetime debate amongst all the candidates in Dublin Central and I challenged Mary Lou McDonald to explain what would happen if, as is the Sinn Fein mantra, “we sent the IMF home” . How would we pay the nurses and doctors? How would we pay old age pensions and social welfare payments? How would we maintain the roads and the schools?She didn’t answer, which says it all really.
Later in the evening, Michael Noonan filleted Pearse Doherty on Frontline and highlighted how dangerous and absurd the Sinn Fein position is. While he was at it, he highlighted the failure of Brian Lenihan’s policies and the danger inherent in Labour’s plan to delay tackling the deficit.
My experience on the doorsteps is that people want answers, not just angry slogans. Yesterday proved why.