LABOUR HAS ANNOUNCED that it has one precondition for entering into a coalition with Fine Gael: that child benefit will not be reduced further.

Party leader Eamon Gilmore also said that Labour would not be introducing a graduate tax, describing the proposal as unfair because so many new graduates were facing poor job prospects, reports RTÉ.

Speaking in Dún Laoghaire at the launch of a new poster campaign, Gilmore said that the Fine Gael proposal would mean that new graduates would face an average debt of €12,000 upon leaving college – a situation which would result in a ‘brain drain’, reports the Irish Times.

“This will push their personal income taxes up even higher, and act as a disincentive to them staying in Ireland or returning home,” Gilmore said.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael said that its Five Point Plan would ensure that Ireland would have a smaller, more efficient public sector. The party has also vowed to crack down on welfare fraud.

The party’s enterprise spokesman Richard Bruton said: “In the same way that Fine Gael has declared ‘all-out’ war on white collar crime and rogue bankers, we will target welfare fraud and secure savings of €1 billion by year three of a new government”.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin is speaking about its policy on natural resources today.