The December Budget will "strengthen competitiveness, enhance fairness, aim for sustainability and reward work", the Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has said.
Minister for Finance Brian Cowen
"It will be designed with the needs of the next five years rather than the next few months in mind," he said.
Addressing the 5,000 delegates at the 70 thFianna Fail Ardfheis in Dublin today, Mr Cowen said the essence of the party's economic philosophy is constructive relations with the social partners.
He defended the Government's record on taxation and the economy and said its partnership approach was the basis of the State's current prosperity.
"It stands in contrast to the approach of the Opposition, and to people want to see it continuing, we soundly say, continue to support this party as the best guarantor of your and your family's continued success," he said.
Mr Cowen claimed the Opposition did not have a "real vision" for the future.
"How can they claim to be worth prospective protectors of our economic prosperity, when they've opposed every single economic reform and tax measure that we've brought in and introduced in this Government?" Mr Cowen said.
"They don't understand that tax cuts drive economic success, which create the resources for social services. They haven't been able to figure that one out - and the record speaks for itself, every time."
Minister for Finance Brian Cowen
"When a Fine Gael/Labour government encounters economic difficulty, its first reaction has been to raise taxes."
"To put it at its most basic, we can have after the next election a continuation of Fianna Fail in government managing the economy, or we can have Pat Rabbitte as Minister for Finance.It's really as simple as that. That's the choice and that's why he's been so quiet and non-commital on the economy.
"His public position is that he won't raise taxes. His party's approach is to try to spend their way out of every problem. And he's falling over himself telling us about his spending plans, but eerily silent when it comes to telling us how he'll pay for the proposals."
Mr Cowen said that Ireland had come from being one of the developed world's worst economies twenty years ago one that was a model of excellence, and a performance which is "the envy of much of the developed world".
"In 1987, this country was the third poorest state in Europe. Today it is the second wealthiest. Was this the result of some unfortunate accident? Is it the natural order of things? Was it inevitable? No, it was the result of the hard work of the Irish people combining with the responsible and forward-looking policies of Fianna Fail in government," he said.
Ireland's economic success was down to a number of things, including putting budgetary responsibility first, reducing taxes, implementing social partnership and investing in infrastructure, Mr Cowen said.
The numbers at work had surged to two million and workers on the minimum wage were now out of the tax next completely.
"Our success has been driven by the fact that Fianna Fail in government, has taken a long-term approach to the long-term needs and the long-term prospects of this country.
We believe that countries compete not on the basis of costs but rather on the quality of their human and physical capital. If you have the skills, the innovation and the talent and you combine them with an infrastructure which underpins both economic efficiency and quality of life, you have a formula which delivers and sustains ongoing prosperity," Mr Cowen said.
Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural resources Noel Dempsey criticised those involved in what he said was a recent public "character assassination" of the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Mr Dempsey said there was no mystery about Fianna Fáil's recent boost in opinion polls. He said the people had "looked over the abyss" and realised there was "no alternative" to Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil in government.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin
also addressed delegates and said prosperity and economic growth did not have to be at the expense of the environment.