Taoiseach’s call for national unity attracts opposition praise

BRIAN COWEN’S passionate call for national unity in the face of economic turmoil drew strong reaction last night.

SIPTU president Jack O’Connor dismissed the rallying cry as “woolly words”, but Labour leader Eamon Gilmore praised the Taoiseach.

Mr Cowen attempted to re-define his approach to the sudden collapse in Ireland’s jobs and financial position in a spirited address to business leaders.

He warned that living standards would dive by 12% and the next generation was in danger of faring worse than this one as the economy continued to shed jobs this year and next. Mr Cowen said his priority was “jobs, jobs, jobs” as he urged the country to unite in the face of adversity.

“If we decide to wallow in the sea of doubt, do not be surprised if we remain in the turbulent waters that we are in today,” he told the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Gilmore said he was giving the Taoiseach the benefit of the doubt and hoping the address marked a turning point in the Government’s attitude to mass unemployment.

“If some of the views expressed by the Taoiseach last night are... reflected in future Government policies then I believe there is a much better prospect of ending the downward economic spiral and putting the country on the road to recovery,” he said. “If Mr Cowen’s speech reflects a genuine change of direction then it will need to be reflected in a much more pro-active approach by the Government to both job creation and job protection. The loss of every job costs €20,000 in additional social welfare payments and lost tax revenue.

“It is very clear that the problem in the public finances is not the cause of the job losses. It is the huge growth in unemployment that is contributing to the major hole in the public finances,” he said.

However, Mr Gilmore said the Taoiseach would have to prove rhetoric on jobs through action not words regarding the proposed redundancies in Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Waterford Crystal.

Mr O’Connor said the Taoiseach’s words did not tally with the “unfairness” of the pensions tax imposed on public sector workers this week. “It will require a great deal more than woolly words to maintain social cohesion during the difficult times that lie ahead as a result of the Government’s gross mismanagement of the economy over the last 12 years,” he said.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny remarked the “penny had finally dropped” with the Taoiseach over the depth of the country’s economic problems, and he hoped Mr Cowen would now govern and make decisions after months of “drift”.