Opposition parties said today the Dáil should be recalled early from its summer recess in light of the deteriorating public finances and the Government's decision to unveil the 2009 Budget six weeks early.
Responding to the Government's announcement this afternoon, Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton said the “crisis Budget” announced today signalled that the Government had “finally woken up to the scale of the crisis facing the economy”.
“We can only hope that the Government has a clear plan of action to rescue the economy, and is not hoping for a flash of inspiration between now and the Budget,” Mr Bruton said.
“Without a definite strategy, Fianna Fáil is likely to foist emergency tax measures on the public come October. Many of these will be stealth taxes which will hit the vulnerable members of society the hardest."
He said it remained to be seen whether this “crisis Budget” was about tax increases for families and businesses in the short-term and cuts in frontline services early next January.
“Fianna Fáil only has itself to blame for this debacle. Fine Gael has been warning for years that the Government’s over-reliance on a debt-fuelled housing boom was unsustainable," Mr Bruton added.
Labour Party finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said today’s "dreadful unemployment figures" coupled with yesterday’s "disastrous exchequer returns" appeared to have finally roused the Government from its "summer slumber".
She said the Dáil must meet next week for an on-the-record debate on the nation’s finances and a discussion on what the Government must do to "restore financial credibility".
“Families and businesses are hurting. People losing their jobs, particularly from the construction industry, are being given little encouragement or support to re-train, up-skill and find new jobs."
Ms Burton called for the introduction of a national programme that sets out a roadmap for recovery of the economhy, including committments to "essential long-term investment in infrastructure".
"[Taoiseach] Brian Cowen is the principal culprit for our economic woes, particularly in the construction sector which he continued to boost to unsustainable levels in all of his budgets. A full response to the recession demands more than changing the date of the budget," Ms Burton added.
Sinn Féin also called for the Dáil to be recalled early.
Eonomic spokesman Arthur Morgan said the announcement was evidence of the depth of the current public finance crisis.
He said all indications were that the Government intended returning to a “failed strategy of the 1980s of putting the burden on families and small businesses already struggling to cope with the cost of living”. But he said utbacks in public spending which undermine frontline services would “not be tolerated”.
The Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) welcomed today’s decision to unveil the 2009 Budget six weeks early.
In a statement, the body said the decision "indicates that at last the Government have seen the light and are acknowledging that clarity and confidence is required to regenerate business confidence and revitalise economic growth".
“It is imperative that the measures introduced to underline this confidence include maintenance of the National Development Plan, tackling the cost environment particularly business costs, addressing excessive public expenditure including a pay freeze and incentivising business to develop and grow.”
Commenting on the Government's Budget move, Friends First chief economist Jim Power said: "The tax shortfall is horrific and it's going to get worse.
"People could interpret this as panic. But the positive interpretation is that at least they are standing up, recognising the problem and doing something about it."
Mr Power said he has been "astounded" by the Government's failure to deal with the worsening economy since former finance minister Brian Cowen took over as Taoiseach in May.