Cowen blames global factors for slump

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has once again blamed international factors rather than the Government’s own policies for the economic slump.

Ireland was officially declared in recession on Thursday and the opposition has criticised Mr Cowen for not doing enough over his four-year tenure as Finance Minister to prepare for the downturn.

But Mr Cowen has repeatedly pointed to the turmoil in the global markets as the main reason for Ireland’s economic woes.

And speaking at a British-Irish Council summit in Scotland yesterday, he once again insisted that these global factors — rather than the policies he adopted as Finance Minister — were to blame.

“What is clearly recorded are global developments over the last number of months, particularly, which have brought about a totally new economic situation, not only in Ireland but in the entire European Union, and subsequently downsized economic growth prospects.

“What we would say, from our point of view, is the policies which we pursued in the past, which saw growth rates in excess of the average, which saw the economy outperforming most other countries in the EU in other times, were the correct policies for those times.

“Clearly we now have to adapt our policies to this situation.”

But the opposition claimed there was no coherence in government policy, accusing the Taoiseach of a “lack of leadership”.

Labour deputy leader Joan Burton, referring to the fact that the Government appeared at odds over a proposed public service redundancy scheme, said: “The whole pattern of events in recent weeks of ministers saying one thing and then subsequently being disowned by the Government reflects the absolute lack of leadership from the Taoiseach and the absence of any coherence in government policy on the economic crisis.

“It does not inspire any confidence that the Government has the ability to get us out of the recession into which Brian Cowen and his colleagues have brought the country.”

Fine Gael TD Leo Varadkar echoed those comments, questioning the ability of both the Taoiseach and Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.

“The two men with greatest responsibility for steering Ireland out of a recession, which they have helped create, seem to have nothing to offer.”