Kenny: ‘Tough but fair’ decisions needed

FINE Gael would support the principle of tough but fair decisions regarding public sector pay cuts, party leader Enda Kenny said yesterday.

Asked about his party’s approach to cuts in public pay and jobs, he said: “You have to take into account the proportionate spread of income within the public service. Clearly cutbacks of some description are on the agenda. We are not sure of the extent or range of that yet.

“There is obviously a need to consider the range of incomes within the public service that apply.”

He said the Government had not set out what their plan is and there was no clarity on the extent and range of cuts they propose.

Mr Kenny was speaking in Limerick where he met Fine Gael TDs from north Munster to discuss Dell’s decision to transfer 1,900 jobs to Poland.

He said that six years ago, Fine Gael was first to indicate that the benchmarking process would be a real opportunity to reform the public service, but the Government continued to ignore all the financial indicators that have now landed the country in this financial mess.

Mr Kenny refused to be drawn on calls by Labour leader, Eamon Gilmore, for a general election.

“A general election is going to happen in any event. It is not due for approximately three years.

“This year you are faced with local elections, European elections, two by-elections and a Lisbon referendum. There is a great deal of political activity in there and it remains to be seen whether this government has the capacity to deal with any or all of those issues. For our part we will continue to hold this government to account very strongly both in the Dáil and outside.”

He said that over the past 12 months there had been the equivalent of five Dell closures every month.

“And this from a government that now expects everybody in the national interest to put their should to the wheel and that they can continue on in government,” Mr Kenny added.

He said Fine Gael will play it’s part to get us out of the current situation.

There had been no clarity, Mr Kenny said, from the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste as to the extent and range of cuts the Government propose to make or when they propose to make them.