Surplus turned into €4bn deficit - Kenny

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny today accused the Government of "blowing" the Republic's economic boom.

Speaking after a party press conference in Dublin today, Mr Kenny accused the Government of turning a surplus into a €4 billion deficit and said there was a "leaking of confidence" in the economy.

The said the fundamentals were correct but there were issues that needed to be addressed such as the upskilling of the workforce and the development of infrastructure such as broadband.

Mr Kenny said the concerns about the economy in the current worldwide context were "very real".

"We now have a Government that has blown the boom. We have a Government that has us ill-prepared for the economic squalls and challenges that are on the way," he said.

Mr Kenny said there was a need for "serious impact" in terms of retraining and upskilling for many workers and also a need to prioritise capital infrastructure.

"We stand at the bottom of the league in developed countries in the context of broadband and all I hear from Government are the old clichéd sentences that were very applicable when we had an unprecedented economic boom for the last 10 years.

"But we've arrived at a position now where we have turned a surplus into a €4 billion deficit and where there is that leaking of confidence.

"I'm not going to talk down the Irish economy, the fundamentals of which are still correct, but government has not focused all its attention on dealing with the priorities as we would see them."

Mr Kenny said what was needed was "clear government action and decisiveness" on upskilling, prioritisation of capital infrastructure, broadband and the "perception of the way pay and pay negotiations have gone in this country".

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said yesterday Ireland's economic policies were strong enough to withstand uncertainty in the world economy and volatility in stock markets.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr Ahern admitted he was "concerned" about the current volatility. He said he and the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen had spoken "a number of times" in recent days.

"We are monitoring the situation very closely in order to assess the economic implications for us. However, I think it's important that we don't overreact to the latest turbulence in the international markets," he said.