Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan has said it is not credible to suggest that tax cuts can be made alongside improved investment in public services.
Speaking at the launch of his party's manifesto, he said: "It is not compatible. I think most of the electorate know that. We had a situation back in 2007 where we eroded the tax base and that caused huge difficulties in terms of the economic crash."
In contrast to the larger parties, the Social Democrats is not suggesting any income tax cuts if it is elected to government.
Mr O'Callaghan also defended the party's wealth tax, which will only raise €150 - 200 million.
The tax would be levied at a rate of 0.5% on assets above €1 million (net of liabilities), excluding the family home, business assets and farm land.
The levy would rise to 1% on assets over €2 million.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The outgoing Dublin Bay North TD said it was a good measure, which would redistribute wealth and could be used to fund plans for a DEIS-plus model.
He added that it was not a tax on homes but, instead, it was a tax on super wealth.
On the party's housing proposals, Mr O'Callaghan said phasing out the Help to Buy and Shared Equity schemes were not red lines, but delivering 50,000 affordable homes over five year must be agreed.
He added that the two schemes had inflated house prices.
Overall, the party wants to build 50,000 affordable purchase homes, 25,000 affordable rental and 70,000 social houses over a Government term.
It also says it would end no-fault evictions and introduce a temporary three-year rent freeze.
The party wants to replace rent pressure zones with a reference rent system.
Outgoing Wicklow TD Jennifer Whitmore also attacked Fine Gael saying it was not credible that the party would bring forward new proposals after 14 years in power.
"You can have as much new energy as possible, but if you're pushing new energy into old ideas and failed policies, you're just going to get more failed policies," she said.
On disability, the Social Democrats say it will increase funding for disability services by an additional €1.1bn per year and it would abolish the means test for carers and introduce a statutory right to homecare.
The party has already said it would insist on a full Cabinet Minister for Disability as a condition for entering any coalition government.
On childcare, the Social Democrats said it would move towards a fully public model, capping fees at €250 per month.
On health, the party said it would insist on the full implementation of Sláintecare in any government formation talks.
The party also said it would also decriminalise possession of small quantities of drugs for personal consumption.
