Taoiseach Brian Cowen today called for a “unity of purpose” among all political parties to address the budget deficit and restore international confidence in Ireland.
Speaking at the annual Fianna Fáil Wolfe Tone commemoration at Bodenstown in Co Kildare, Mr Cowen said he welcomed the acceptance by the main Opposition parties that reducing Ireland’s deficit to 3 per cent of GDP by 2014 is necessary.
“This is a good start, but agreeing to targets is not necessarily the same as agreeing to take actions required to meet them,” the Taoiseach said. “It would substantially help Ireland’s position if we were to show the international community that there is a unity of purpose to go from words to actions.”
While accepting Ireland was in the midst of a serious financial crisis, he said he did not believe the problems were insurmountable and insisted there were grounds for optimism. He defended Government economic policies, saying they have stabilised the economy and ensured the deficit will be less than 12 per cent this year.
He said he would be entering the forthcoming discussions with Fine Gael and Labour with “good faith and a hope that we will collectively be able to show the public a spirit of responsible co-operation”.
“The Government is determined to deliver on its constitutional responsibilities, the most obvious being the duty to prepare and introduce the budget together with protecting our international standing,” said Mr Cowen. “We have no wish to stifle debate on differences of approach.”
He said a cross-party agreement would send a “strong signal” to the European Union and the international markets that Ireland was committed to tackling the deficit.
“The stakes are high for this country, since concerns about fiscal sustainability have resulted in a deterioration in sentiment towards Ireland in the financial markets in recent months and, correspondingly, increased borrowing costs for the State. We must get these borrowing costs down.”
Mr Cowen warned significant austerity measures would be required but said promoting sustainable employment growth was also vital. “Through investing in our infrastructure, strengthening our R&D capacity and developing new policy frameworks to create the best conditions to establish and grow businesses, we can face the future with confidence,” he said.
“We have to restructure our economy. Our future economic and social development depends on our success in forging a new, competitive, entrepreneurial and export-oriented economy.”
Opposition leaders will be briefed by senior officials at the Department of Finance tomorrow on the economy.
Fine Gael's Leo Varadkar said last night the party is set to support the objectives of the Government's four year economic strategy. He said his party favours a deficit reduction plan that is three parts spending cuts and one part tax increases.
Fine Gael also plans to launch proposals on reforming the public service, which includes dismantling of the Health Service Executive.