24 January 2020
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
The Green Party in Cork had said that another Fine Gael government would lead to even greater income inequality.
The criticism comes follow a warning by ESRI economist, Barra Roantree, that Ireland has among the worst pre-tax income inequality in the European Union. The ESRI research showed that Fine Gael election tax policies would push post-tax income inequality level as high as is seen in Tory Britain.
Green Party Councillor, and candidate for Cork North Central, Oliver Moran said that another Fine Gael government would be a threat to social cohesion in Ireland:
“The Fine Gael plan to dismantle the country’s system of progressive taxation will result in even worse income inequality. We know where that goes. It means more crime, longer trolley crises, more families locked out of housing, parts of the country being left behind. Mr Roantree is right to point out that that hollowing out of the middle classes is the same recipe as behind Brexit in the UK and Trump in the US.”
Oliver Moran from the Green Party in Cork
“The lunge of Fine Gael to the right, from being a traditionally centrist and Christian democratic party, is among the most worrying social and political threats to our country as I see it now. They have effectively abandoned whole swathes of the electorate and are focusing on populist policies to benefit a very narrow wedge of voters.
“Another Fine Gael government will only exacerbate inequality, and all of the problems that go with that.”
