The second seven-way leaders’ debate of the 2020 general election at Virgin Media headquarters in Dublin proved to be a very loud affair indeed. The debate, chaired by Matt Cooper and Ivan Yates, saw the two presenters making more noise in the first two minutes than had been seen in both televised debates broadcast thus far put together. It saw Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald come out swinging regarding accusations that her party’s budgetary promises, which include €4 billion in additional taxes and lavish spending on public services, do not stand up to scrutiny. “Our figures were run by the Department of Finance, our plan produces a surplus of €3.4 billion after a five year term of Government,” she said. Labour’s Brendan Howlin chose to attack those promising tax cuts, such as Fine Gael itself, as perpetrating a “con job”.

Source: Irish Examiner January 30, 2020 21:56 UTC