Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien stressed that the government would remain cohesive in an attempt to contain the conflict between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
Last week three junior ministers from Fine Gael wrote an article recommending a €1,000 tax break for workers in the autumn household.
Alongside fellow constituency Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell, he claimed that the events of the past week were too much, reports RTE.
Mr O’Brien said Cabinet was the best place to set a budget and said it would be in line with the single government programme.
He pledged that the three ruling parties would agree on a progressive budget that would focus on people’s needs, the economy and housing.
Mr O’Brien said housing remained a key priority for the government and that the supply of good, social and affordable housing needed to be increased, reports RTE.
Since Fine Gael’s sub-ministers last Monday, there has been a major split between the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Finance Minister, the Law and Justice Minister, the Enterprise and Trade Minister, the sub-ministers and backers in Parliament opinions.
Fianna Fáil’s senior backbencher, TD Barry Cowen, accused Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of the “pure electioneering” as he tightened Fine Gael’s tax stance yesterday.
But Justice Minister Simon Harris of Fine Gael said it was entirely appropriate for his party to express its political position.
If this vexed issue cannot be resolved at a regular meeting of alliance leaders tonight, questions will arise about the level of trust between the three parties, reports RTE.
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