Labour calls for budget to focus on job creation

The Labour Party has called on the Government to make job creation central to next month’s budget.

Speaking at the party’s 64th annual conference in Mullingar, which is being attended by 1,000 delegates, Labour’s finance spokeswoman Joan Burton claimed Government policies were accelerating the rate of job losses in Ireland.

“There is no genuine job-creation commitment in this Government and the budget will undoubtedly accelerate the already grim situation,” she said. “No one in Government has charge of job creation. Every decision is based on headline savings with no regard for the longer term costs that will come when jobs are lost.”

Ms Burton warned that increased unemployment would lead to rising crime rates, welfare dependency, health problems and other social issues.

She said the rules which govern tax shelter schemes and tax exiles must be changed. “There will be no common consent from taxpayers to higher tax rates or levies as long as this corrosive culture flourishes,” she said.

She also warned that angry voters would not tolerate a continuing culture of corporate greed or waste of public money.

“There is an intolerance of binge-lending by banks and vanity spending by government,” she added.

She accused the Government of failing to understand the level of public anger at the mismanagement of the economy.

“There has been a similar unwillingness to show the door to many of the directors whose actions contributed so much to the turnaround in our country’s fortunes.”

Earlier, the party’s health spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan described Minister for Health Mary Harney’s reform programme as an “expensive sham” and claimed a “culture of greed” was rotting the health service.

Justice spokesman Brendan Howlin said Fianna Fáil’s “failed policies and philosophy compounded a world economic recession into a uniquely Irish tragedy”.

Energy spokeswoman Liz McManus told delegates Ireland needs a massive investment in wind power to ensure targets of generating 40 per cent of all electricity from renewable resources by 2020 was met. She described progress as “disappointing” and laid the blame on “Government lethargy”.

Social and Family Affairs spokeswoman Roisin Shorthall called for support for people struggling to pay their fixed-rates mortgages after being laid off and Mary Upton said Ireland “desperately needs” reform in tourism and sport.

Last night, party leader Eamon Gilmore proposed major reductions in the size of political donations and ordered radical reform of the work of the Government, the Oireachtas and the public service.

He insisted the country was ready for a Labour-led government. "This Government has been in power for 12 years. They were the ones who got us into this mess. People simply don't trust them to get us out."

He said success in the local and European elections can be a springboard for a future Labour government. Mr Gilmore said he was satisfied that Labour was riding high in the polls but the party must not rest on its laurels.

"Polls or no polls, there is no such thing as a safe Labour seat. We do not live or die by polls alone. The proof will be in the results this June. It is up to us to seal the deal - to turn that support into votes."