Cowen to call Budget bluff of Kenny, Gilmore
Thursday November 12 2009
TAOISEACH Brian Cowen will next week call the bluff of Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore by directly challenging them to detail how they would cut €4bn to salvage the public finances.
The Fine Gael and Labour leaders have so far refused to say where they would find the money to stave off the social welfare cuts being planned by the Government.
Mr Kenny and Mr Gilmore both insist they will set out where they would cut spending before the Budget is announced next month.
But the Government is planning to flush the opposition parties out on Tuesday with a special four-hour debate in the Dail -- giving them ample opportunity to set out their stall.
Yet again yesterday, the opposition leaders said their budgetary proposals would protect social welfare. Mr Kenny claimed he would not cut child benefit, while Mr Gilmore called for the Christmas bonus to be restored.
Mr Kenny said yesterday's Irish Independent had details of a "secret plan by Government to cut the rates of child benefit". Mr Gilmore said the failure to pay the bonus to pensioners was "mean and shameful".
The coalition parties are becoming increasingly impatient with the opposition's repeated habit of criticising cuts without saying where they would make the savings.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will this evening warn of the stark consequences for the country if he doesn't slash spending in December's Budget.
The Department of Finance is publishing its 'Pre-Budget Outlook' figures, showing what will happen to the economy if the Government doesn't take action next month.
He will reiterate plans to cut about €3.25bn from day-to-day spending and another €750m from capital spending next year.
Ahead of the December 9 Budget, the minister will also rule out significant tax increases as a way to tackle the deficit.
Mr Lenihan will announce a current budget adjustment of €3.25bn and say the bulk of this figure will come from spending cuts, rather than tax hikes.
Debate
Next week, Mr Lenihan will take part in a debate on the Budget, which the opposition parties agreed to last night.
The minister has repeatedly said he was open to suggestions.
Government chief whip Pat Carey said he believed the opposition parties would welcome the chance to say where they would identify €4bn in cuts.
He said he hoped the debate would be a "measured, mature and realistic" discussion on the available economic options.
However, it is not yet clear if the opposition parties will go public on their fully-costed budgetary proposals. They appear to be set to hold off until nearer Budget day.
Mr Kenny says Fine Gael has calculated it is not necessary to cut child benefit. He is effectively ring-fencing this €2.5bn budget from cutbacks.
And Mr Gilmore wants the Christmas bonus reinstated this year, at an estimated cost of €223m, while also ruling out cuts to child benefit.
Mr Kenny's spokesman said the party would clearly outline its alternative Budget in the coming weeks. Fine Gael says its figures for cuts in different areas would be different from the Government's targets. "We're not necessarily assuming the breakdown the Government has set out," the spokesman said.
Labour has been calling for the Christmas bonus to be reinstated since April. At that stage, the party said it believed revenue required for the payment could be raised through further restrictions on interest relief on rental property.
The party said it would set out its position on all areas of spending in its pre-Budget plans but added that these figures were "broadly correct".
Mr Kenny again pressed Mr Cowen to clarify if it was the Government's intention to cut child benefit.
"Today's Irish Independent carries a detailed set of proposals as part of what appears to be a secret plan. . . to cut the rates of child benefit," he said.
Mr Kenny was referring to a report that every family would take a cut in child benefit under plans being considered for next month's Budget -- with the wealthiest being hardest hit.
- Fionnan Sheahan Political Editor
Irish Independent
