TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen said the Government would do whatever was necessary to ensure fiscal stability was returned to the State during an interview on RTÉ Radio One's Morning Irelandprogramme yesterday morning.
Mr Cowen said there would be a minimum of €3 billion in budget cuts this year. He did not expect cuts to amount to €4 billion, but did not want to pre-empt discussions due to take place between Ministers.
“Look, we will do whatever is necessary to ensure that fiscal stability is returned to the country over a period of time. It won’t be done overnight, this year’s budget will not solve the problem in any event, in terms of whether it’s €3 billion or €3.1 billion or €3.2 billion or anything else, and I think it’s important that people will understand that for every €5 we’re spending we’re taking in €3 in exchequer returns,” Mr Cowen said.
He was interviewed by Cathal Mac Coille from about 8.50am. During the interview, Mr Cowen described the Croke Park agreement on public service pay and reform as the Good Friday Agreement, before correcting himself.
Asked when the Croke Park deal would be implemented, Mr Cowen said: “It’s during the course of this estimates campaign that we’ll be ending up with the situation where the allocations that will be made will require the implementation in many respects of the Good Friday of the, ah, sorry, the Croke Park agreement, which is about redeployment, which is about better work practices . . .”
He also said legislation to ban corporate donations to political parties, being insisted upon by the Green Party, was in place, before correcting himself to say that it was being prepared.
“Again that is, that is legislation that is in place or sorry, that’s legislation that’s in preparation,” he said. Pressed on whether or not the legislation would be introduced, the Taoiseach said: “Government decisions will be made based on the Programme for Government.”
Mr Cowen said it would be wrong to describe as “convergent issues” the three outstanding byelections, the referendum on children’s rights and the Dublin mayoral election.
“It shouldn’t be assumed that all these matters can be handled and they’re faits accomplis in terms of the amount of work that has to be done on them.”
Asked whether he thought the idea of a Dublin mayoral election was a good idea, Mr Cowen said: “The Government is committed to that proposal in the Programme for Government, and like any other commitment it has to be dealt with on that basis.”
Mr Cowen said there were no “soft option politics” available to the Government, and said “defeatism” would not solve Ireland’s problems.
“What will get us out of this situation is preparedness by a government to do what’s necessary to get this country back on track . . . We all have to get in behind it and make sure we do it because it’s exactly about that by the way, it’s about how we secure our kids’ future.”
