THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission will have the authority to recommend changes or alterations to the Government’s four-year plan during negotiations, it has been confirmed by the Department of Finance.
A spokesman for the Minister for Finance accepted yesterday that the document could be amended if necessary during talks with the two external agencies.
However, he said Mr Lenihan was certain, based on preliminary discussions with the international parties, that the plan would inform the memorandum of understanding that will be drafted at the conclusion of the talks.
While the 140-page document was solely written by the Irish Government, the department indicated that the IMF and the European Commission had not endorsed it.
“It is not possible to say that there will be absolutely no changes to the measures outlined in the plan as negotiations are under way,” the spokesman said.
He distinguished between the memorandum of understanding, which will be a legal document, and yesterday’s plan, which was a policy document.
A spokesman for the IMF mission in Dublin said it was premature to comment on the continuing negotiations.
Speaking on RTÉ last night, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said the plan would form the basis of discussions with the EU and the IMF. Asked was it a pitch to the EU and the IMF rather than a plan that had been accepted, he replied: “This plan will be acceptable to the people with whom we are dealing.”
He also pointed out that the EU commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Olli Rehn, had welcomed the plan.
He said the Government had made certain assumptions about the interest it would pay on the €85 billion loan facility that would be extended and these had been factored into the four-year plan. Fine Gael finance spokesman Michael Noonan, however, argued that the plan had made no mention of the crisis affecting Irish banks.
“The figures will have to be readjusted to take in bank loans,” he said last night.
The negotiations between the State and the external bodies are expected to conclude by the end of the month. Government sources said yesterday that the IMF had encouraged publication of the four-year plan as quickly as possible so that it would be clearly identified as the Government’s own plan.
A Fine Gael team, including party leader Enda Kenny, will meet with officials from the IMF today, with the party yet to decide on its voting strategy for the upcoming budget.
Mr Noonan confirmed Fine Gael had requested the meeting. The parliamentary party met last night to discuss its strategy on the budget, but did not take a decision. The option of putting down a motion of no confidence in Mr Cowen was also discussed in detail. The party’s spokesman on transport Simon Coveney accused the Taoiseach of being “unwilling to engage with the Opposition in a serious way”.