THE Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, stressed that the Programme for Competitiveness and Work (PCW) had provided real income gains for Irish taxpayers.
Speaking at a meeting of the foundation members of the Institute of European Affairs last night, Mr Quinn said the programme had created more jobs and increased income.
"This holds true for each category of worker - single or married, with or without children - thanks to the combination of tax reductions and wage increases provided for under the programme," he said.
In an apparent effort to temper the tensions brewing between the Government and trade union movement over a new national wage agreement, Mr Quinn insisted the PCW had "been central to our economic and employment performance over the past three years".
Sources close to Mr Quinn said he was trying to emphasise that workers were gaining from the many added benefits of the PCW and that the overall impact of the PCW on income needed to be considered.
Lower interest rates, low inflation and tax reductions can all be traced back to the programme, the sources said. "Maybe people don't recall how high interest rates were when the programme was negotiated," he said.
Mr Quinn underlined Ireland's commitment to monetary union and the importance of continuing to meet the Maastricht requirements. "In the real economy, lower long term interest rates have boosted the profitability of investment and have therefore contributed to the strong rate of employment growth we have experienced over recent years.
"Lower long term interest rates also reduce the burden of financing the national debt, freeing more resources for reductions in the burden of taxation and for improving the provision and quality of public services," he said.
Mr Quinn said he intended to place employment at the top of the EU agenda during Ireland's forthcoming presidency. "This must be done in order to address the unacceptable level of unemployment right across the union, and to ensure the popular acceptability of EMU," he said.
He called on member states to use the "virtuous circle IPCW and its benefits which we have seen emerge in Ireland" as a guide.
