Stability pact puts spotlight on McCreevy

CREATING jobs, modernising Europe’s economies, presiding over enlargement, improving US relations and progressing Europe’s draft Constitution are all headline issues for Ireland during its six-month presidency.

But the issue likely to place the spotlight on Ireland, and specifically on Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy, is the Growth and Stability Pact and particularly the possible reprimanding of France and Germany for breaching its rules.

Mr McCreevy has got over his ticking-off by the European Commission three years ago for producing an expansionary Budget and has for some months being formulating Ireland's attitude to the pact. The complaints about the pact designed to stabilise the