Varadkar says “the cake will get smaller for everyone” if Sinn Féin take over

The Irish economy will be negatively impacted if led by a Sinn Féin Government, says the Tánaiste.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has aimed a fresh swipe in the direction of his Sinn Féin counterparts, arguing that Ireland's economy would shrink if the opposition party is to finally seize control in Dáil Éireann. According to Varadkar, a Sinn Féin-led Government would represent a threat to Ireland's "business-friendly" status in terms of attracting investors, leading to a knock-on effect of fewer jobs for the public. In conversation with the Irish Times on Wednesday, the Tánaiste pointed to promises made by Mary Lou McDonald's party to enact "a fundamental change in our economic policy" which Varadkar believes would prove highly detrimental. "It might not happen immediately, it might take two or three years, but there will be less investment, there will be fewer jobs, the tax take will be smaller than it otherwise would be, and the cake will get smaller for everyone," he said.

"They want to increase employers’ PRSI by something like 40%. That will make it more expensive to employ people in Ireland. They want to increase income tax on people they describe as high earners but the truth is, they are hospital consultants, they are IT professionals, they are executives in companies ... they are jobs that can go elsewhere if the tax burden is too high."

Varadkar has recently talked up the present state of trade both within and coming out of Ireland, citing a recent report by the Central Statistics Office that highlighted €18 billion worth of exports in the month of May. "Trade is what has given us our rising living standards over the years, creating thousands of jobs here, allowing us to invest in vital services," he said. https://twitter.com/LeoVaradkar/status/1549073792852496384 Elsewhere in the Irish Times interview, the Tánaiste referred to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, noting that for people on lower incomes, the months to come may "feel like a recession". On housing, Varadkar said that "hard-working" people in their 20s and 30s not buying able to purchase home represents a "fundamental breach of the social contract in a home-owning democracy", adding that his administration needs to work twice as hard to fix the situation. Featured Imagery via Sasko Lazarov / Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie