The party said its proposals to overhaul how Ireland is run would include strengthening the 'right-to-know' legislation to make it easier and cheaper for people to use.

Leader Enda Kenny said he would introduce a new Freedom of Information Act within 100 days of being elected Taoiseach which would overturn restrictions placed on the current laws by Fianna Fail in 2003.

A "nominal" charge would also be applied instead of the present fees, which can quickly mount up and become costly, under the proposals in the party's "New Politics" document.

Mr Kenny said the plan was part of a comprehensive reform package which would see the biggest overhaul of the Irish political system since the 1930s.

"Change is always difficult and change is not always popular but sometimes it is very necessary to make change that is right," he said.

"We see the implementation of this programme as being a cost-saving exercise, but much more important in the context of accountability, answerability, transparency and transferring the functions and powers down to the citizen."

Other key proposals include abolishing the Seanad, reducing the number of TDs by 20, cutting the President's term from seven to five years and making Dail committees more powerful.

Earlier plans for a "list" system, to elect 15 TDs from outside the political system, as well as a quota system to boost women representatives, were dropped from the document after internal opposition in Fine Gael.