TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen suggested that Labour Party policies could make it difficult to achieve an all-party consensus on the economy during sharp exchanges in the Dáil yesterday.

Mr Cowen said he had no objection to a meeting to confirm that a briefing from the Department of Finance was “the pitch on which they were to play”.

He would also favour having talks beyond that, producing an outcome which would meet with everybody’s approval.

Addressing Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, he said: “I am also quite aware of what your stated position is publicly on these fronts already . . . And, you know, there have been policy choices suggested by yourself as late as yesterday that suggest no tax change, no change in welfare . . . a number of things which would make it very difficult, from my point of view, to see how we could make the adjustment without having all these matters on the table.’’

In an interview with the Evening Heraldon Monday, Mr Gilmore said his party was opposed to cuts in child benefit and social welfare payments and favoured increased income taxes for those earning €100,000 or more.

In the Dáil Mr Gilmore said that what the Taoiseach had outlined was not what Minister for the Environment John Gormley had proposed. The process proposed by the Taoiseach involved a meeting to consider an information-sharing exercise.

He said he would ignore Mr Cowen’s “temptation to resort to partisan type” in his reply.

“The proposal from Minister Gormley was that there would be a process leading to consensus,” said Mr Gilmore.

“The Taoiseach is not confirming that. The Taoiseach is saying we have a meeting to share information and that the Government would go off and make decisions,” he added.

Mr Cowen said it would be more likely that there would be some prospect of a common conclusion if there was a common analysis.

They could then assess what further meetings would be helpful if that was the case. But he was not pre-committing Mr Gilmore to the process. "I am not getting involved in any partisan comment at all," said Mr Cowen. "I am just referring to your in the Evening Heraldyesterday evening, which, I presume, is accurately reflecting what your view is.''

Mr Cowen said he was taking the issue on a step-by-step basis.

“What we are saying is we are open to a constructive approach from all sides if that is possible,” he added.

Earlier, Mr Gilmore said he was confused about Mr Gormley’s observation that the purpose of all-party meetings would be to seek a political consensus relating to the budget and the four-year budgetary plan.

His understanding of consensus, he said, was that all parties had to agree and that they could also exercise a veto.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said his party would act constructively with the Government in the interests of the people and the country.

Fine Gael, he said, would assess the briefing from the Department of Finance and be as constructive as possible.

Mr Cowen said he had made it clear last Friday that he had no problem with inter-party meetings at leadership level to consider opposition proposals.

Mr Kenny said people ranged between deeply concerned to being terrified of the economic situation facing the State.

“They recognise that a significant element of this was because of poor government, bad judgment and obscene waste of their money.”