OPPOSITION FINANCE politicians will receive detailed briefings on the state of the country’s finances today, as Taoiseach Brian Cowen appealed to parties to show “unity of purpose” to the international community.
Department of Finance secretary general Kevin Cardiff and other officials will respond to questions by Fine Gael’s Michael Noonan and the Labour Party’s Joan Burton in separate sessions this morning.
Ms Burton will be the first Opposition finance politician to attend a briefing at the department on Merrion Street in Dublin at 8.30am. She will be followed by Mr Noonan at 11am and Sinn Féin’s Arthur Morgan at 1.30pm.
Mr Noonan stressed the session would not involve any discussion of policy but would focus on data and statistics. “It’s a bit like those cookery programmes where different people compete with the same ingredients. What we’ll be getting is the ingredients; we’ll be cooking separately. You can rely on the Government to make a dog’s dinner of it. We’ll try something more appetising,” Mr Noonan said.
He was concerned some “politically sensitive” information would not be released. However, the data being made available is the same material the Government is working off to prepare a four-year budgetary strategy, the Green Party said.
Minister for Social Protection Éamon Ó Cuív last night confirmed social welfare cuts would be an element of the strategy. “It’s not necessarily across-the-board cuts but there will inevitably have to be cuts in the social welfare budget,” he told RTÉ’s The Week In Politics programme.
Mr Cowen yesterday called on the Opposition to unite with Fianna Fáil and the Greens around the idea the time for “politics as usual” had passed. He outlined his belief other parties could help the State’s position abroad and welcomed as a “good start” the acceptance by Fine Gael and Labour of the need to reduce the deficit to 3 per cent by 2014.
“But agreeing to targets is not necessarily the same as agreeing to take actions required to meet them. 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. If there’s one thing we should all be able to agree it is that this is no time for ‘politics as usual’.”
Mr Cowen invoked Wolfe Tone at the annual Fianna Fáil commemoration of the leader of the United Irishmen in Bodenstown, Co Kildare, stressing the importance of Ireland maintaining control over its own affairs. “While we may differ on how to achieve our goals, I know that the Opposition leaders will agree with Tone when he said that we are better off conducting our own affairs than being subject to others’ control.
“I hope that this shared conviction will provide the unifying basis for realistic and focused discussion on the best path ahead,” Mr Cowen said.
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan will not attend the monthly meeting of European finance ministers which takes place in Luxembourg today. His spokesman said Mr Lenihan would be attending the funeral of his uncle, Paddy Lenihan, who died on Thursday, and officials would go to the Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings.
Fine Gael frontbencher Leo Varadkar, who took Mr Lenihan’s place at an economics workshop in Kenmare, Co Kerry, at the weekend, said his party would back the Government’s four-year deficit-reducing strategy but would not be bound by any specific details.
Mr Varadkar, Fine Gael’s spokesman on communications, said his party favoured cutting spending rather than raising taxes. Fine Gael would propose a plan that was three parts spending cuts and one part tax increases, he said.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore told party members taxes will have to go up if Ireland is to reach its deficit target. He did not commit himself to any measures besides a new 48 per cent tax rate for those earning over €100,000.