Insiders blame Murphy for FG tax cut washout

EMBATTLED Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has lost the blame game to Simon Harris within Fine Gael over who is responsible for the low level of anticipated tax cuts in next week’s Budget.

Unease is growing across all levels of Fine Gael over the relatively minuscule taxcutting project being signalled by the Department of Finance.

One minister warned: ‘This reads more like a Budget crafted by the Labour party than by Fine Gael. The ratio of spending to tax cuts is 10 to one rather than two to one’.

And in an indication that political uncertainty will continue beyond the Budget they said: ‘Were Fine Gael in Government on its own this would be a very different Budget.’

This, the minister warned, ‘is a Budget that does not have a single Fine Gael stamp on it. Paschal, of all people, is turning into a closet Marxist.’ Another senior source said: ‘If Fine Gael was governing under its own mandate this would be a very different Budget.’ The source added: ‘Brexit and the need to get a Budget, any Budget, through means this will pass, but there will have to be a post-Budget reckoning on where we are going as a party.

‘We need to engage in a sustained substantial period of tax reform for middle income Ireland if we are to retain our identity.’

Another minister warned: ‘If there was a half-decent right wing party we would be excoriated for our failures on tax. We’re getting away with it.’

Significantly, within Fine Gael, Mr Murphy has lost the battle with Mr Harris over which Minister is responsible for the absence of funds for a significant programme of taxcuts.

‘We are spending billions on housing and getting no credit for it, one minister warned. ‘We have no cash left to spend on tax cuts, thanks to Eoghan.’

Colm Brophy, the Fine Gael chairman of the Budgetary Oversight Committee defended the housing minister. ‘We have a housing crisis and we must build houses. This costs money. It is unavoidable until we regularise the market.’

However, Eoghan Murphy’s critics within Fine Gael issued a warning: ‘We are not going anywhere until we sort out housing.’

One senior source said: ‘Over 40% of the country believes we are the right party for Government, but voters believe we have been heartless and useless over housing. That comes down to Eoghan’s desk.’

Another TD said: ‘There is an acceptance that we must spend on housing, but we have spent every bit of spare cash including that which should have gone to tax cuts. FG are caught in the housing trap too. We are going no-where in terms of an election until we are seen to sort housing out.’

This, they said, ‘is as much a communications failure as a political one. No party has spent more on social housing but the ‘Posh Boy’ thing means it has been money down the social housing drain.’

Fine Gael, they said, ‘will suffer the worst of both worlds next week. Heartless on housing and gutless on tax.’

Meanwhile tensions are believed to be rising again between Independent Alliance Minister Finian McGrath and Health Minister Simon Harris in the wake of what one source called ‘Simon’s billion euro Budget booster’.

Sources close to Mr McGrath said: ‘It is far from the case that negotiations are finished. Finian is still scrapping hard for increases in health, social care and disabilities with his priorities being more respite and residential places more personal assistant hours and a new €40m A&E and cystic fibrosis unit at Beaumount’.

A source said: ‘Simon is seen to have money again. He’s a target now’.