Kenny raises spectre of SF Nightmare on Kildare Street

Sinn Fein TD's Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald TD, Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD, at the launch of its alternative budget for 2015 in the Davenport Hotel, Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

Lise Hand

October 08 2014 11:45 PM

The Taoiseach was sporting a stubborn visage which loudly suggested that Nobody-Puts-Kenny-in-a-Corner.

He was in a pugnacious mood when he bustled into the Dail for Leaders' Questions. At a time when he should be taking bows and bouquets for snatching the nation's collective bottom out of the fire, he was dodging Irish Water and Seanad-related brickbats galore.

Enda was gunning to have a swipe at someone, and nothing imbues him with a warm Ready Brek-style glow of fulfilment more than landing a few digs on the Shinners.

It's even more satisfying than poking a stick into the eye of Fianna Fail - and he really enjoys that.

The previous day, he had been taunting Gerry Adams that his party had yet to present a pre-Budget economic plan, and now that the aforementioned document had materialised, Enda was of a mind to give it an honest-to-god Blueshirt kicking.

Having acquired the Sinn Fein submission, Enda's elves in his department had clearly done some speed-reading and prepared some notes on what they reckoned were black holes in the party's proposals (nothing too complicated, mind) with regards to taxation in particular.

The Taoiseach warmed up first by informing Fianna Fail's Micheal Martin that he had "some neck" to be giving out about water charges, peppering his replies with statements windier than the summit of Croagh Patrick in a hurricane and with well-worn taunts of how the party had banjaxed the country.

The inevitable howls of protest rose from the Fianna Fail troops, who are thoroughly sick of his shtick.

Then Mr Adams rose and began by helpfully pointing out to the Taoiseach that his party had indeed submitted its economic plan "which contains proposals to rebuild the economy, to renew society and to repair the damage done to the community by yourselves and by Fianna Fail before you".

Enda wasn't even slightly impressed. He was a man on a mission, and that mission was to brand Sinn Fein as the ghoulish Halloween Party, armed with a scarier set of cuts than Freddy Krueger and who stalks the hard-pressed, unwary middle classes like a crazed Norman Bates intent on plunging the knife into their few bob at every possible opportunity.

Oh, it was an apocalyptic picture which was painted by the Taoiseach.

As far as he's concerned, Sinn Fein's economic plans proved that if they are let loose on the levers of power, the multinationals and the well-off will flee gibbering from the jurisdiction like the terrified citizens of Gotham scarpered from a rampaging King Kong.

Tumbleweed will roll through the deserted terrain that once housed the IFSC. The country would be banjaxed all over again.

The Taoiseach zoned in on how he (or his elves) interpreted Sinn Fein's tax proposals.

"Sinn Fein wants to increase employers' PRSI by 5pc and increase the top rate of income tax by 7pc," he charged, as behind him, a Halloween chorus of shocked "woos" rose from the Fine Gael backbenchers, who love a good Sinn Fein scare-story before bedtime.

But the Taoiseach was only getting warmed up.

"I'm not sure if Sinn Fein is serious about this because if it is, it would drive every employer and every potential investor out of the country in terms of the creation of jobs," he informed the chamber.

Enda (or his elves) had done the sums, and estimated that such a Nightmare on Kildare Street would lead to a devilish top income tax rate of "more than 62pc, leaving an incredible total tax rate of 73pc when USC and PRSI are included.

"If you want to close down the country, that's the kind of economics you should be proceeding with, because it is not credible or real," the Taoiseach concluded with relish.

Gerry was disgusted.

"When we bring forward propositions you might not like them. You might disagree with them or want to take issue with them, you should at least give them the serious consideration that we put into them on behalf of those we represent, and others we do not represent, in putting them forward," he reasoned.

But that would involve Enda being conciliatory to Sinn Fein.

And he'd sooner check into Bates Motel for a quiet night's kip than go down that frightful path.

Irish Independent