Crisis Budget is 'no silver bullet' solution
Taoiseach Brian Cowen admittedthat the emergency Budget was just the first step in a lengthy process of correction.
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THE emergency Budget is not a "silver bullet" solution to the current economic turmoil and is only the start of a range of changes to the taxation system, the Taoiseach claimed yesterday.
Speaking as the Cabinet signed off on the supplementary budget this weekend, Mr Cowen warned next Tuesday's measures would be a "serious imposition" on everyone.
The Taoiseach also signalled property taxes and domestic water charges may follow in future Budgets as the current taxation system was predicated on rising growth rates.
"Over the coming years, there will be a lot of changes in terms of the source of taxation," he said.
"There's property, there's water, there's a whole lot of things that have to be looked at."
The imminent Budget is now the first step in a lengthy process of addressing the country's profit and loss account. The country has to take steps back now so that we can come forward again, the Taoiseach said.
"It goes without saying but it [the Budget] will involve a serious imposition on everyone. It will require a real collective effort on all our parts to say that we will go through this period on the basis that we will succeed," Mr Cowen said.
"For me, it's about ensuring that I provide the leadership of a Government that is confident we're going to come through this on the basis we all know there is no silver bullet that solves the problem overnight."
- ine Kerr Political Correspondent
