Eddie presents a series of programmes on the election for TV3 with journalist Matt Cooper.

"All the manifestos and promises are based on a growth rate of 4% and that is all they are, promises. We shouldn't forget that. Economically speaking you could say they are all nonsense because 4% growth is far from certain, " he told the Sunday Tribune.

He highlighted Sinn Fein's policy of nationalising industries as among the more "wacky" ideas to be proposed.

"They are off the wall altogether with some stuff but they will change and grow up. Look at the Green Party.

They have completely gone away from their 'save the snails' image.

"Of all the manifestos I read, I thought the Green Party's was the one that made most sense and was the most thought-out. It was very practical. I am a converted sceptic. They are clear about public transport and are the only political party tacking the issue of development land. It's very refreshing, " he said.

Nicola Byrne, managing director of directory enquiry company 11890

"Enda Kenny's promise to negotiate with the nurses has to be the worst idea I've come across so far, " said the lifelong Progressive Democrat supporter who has been canvassing with health minister Mary Harney in her spare time.

"If you talk to the nurses, you have to talk to the bus drivers, the guards and everyone else. You would have to give in to everybody then. It would destabilise the whole public sector paying process, " she said.

11890 will have to move its 90 employees to Belfast if the Fine Gael leader becomes taoiseach, she said, admitting to sounding like a party political broadcast.

"That would be it. I'd have to leave Dublin and take our business up to Belfast. If Fine Gael and Labour get in I think the economic ship would sink here. If Mary Harney cannot fix the problems of this country then I don't see how an inexperienced Enda Kenny can."

Asked how serious she would be about moving her business based on a political change, she said: "Well, you know, whoever is in power there won't be that dramatic a change".

Maggie Bowen, MD of internet consultants 20-20 strategies

Bowen is typical of many Irish entrepreneurs in the internet age, employing just six people in Ireland with a handful more outsourced to Dubai.

She believes the election does nothing to help business and has created uncertainty in certain markets, with Labour's promise of another public holiday topping her list as worst proposals.

"It's nothing but a gimmick, " she says. "Your workload will remain the same whatever amount of public holidays you have. Its effectively just a pay rise. It might be popular but it does nothing for businesses that are already being squeezed by government costs, " she said.

Of all the political parties, the Greens have the most to offer Irish businesses, she says.

"I would like to see our money spent in a more careful way. We have been going through a period of excessive growth. I don't see any future planning on the economy from any party. All the political focus is on the big corporate players, but we should remember that the backbone of the economy is still businesses that employ between five and 50 people.

Adrian Hegarty, CEO of financial services group Friends First

"All the parties have said strange things right throughout the campaign, " said Hegarty, who is head of a group that employs 450 people in Ireland.

"Sinn Fein's ideas of nationalising parts of Irish industry is probably the worst idea I have heard. That would drive us back to the 1930s if it did happen. I never see it coming about though, " he said.

"One of the things I would be most concerned about is the effect that politicians have had on the property market. Politicians have generated a huge amount of uncertainty in that sector and it is a sector we are hugely dependent on.

"I would be looking for a government that would be diligent in maintaining our low tax system and keeping inflation and costs down.

"I am apolitical and a floating voter. I will probably give my number one vote to Fianna Fail from the point of view of stability. I'm still at a loss as to where to put my number two, " he said.