Cowen ‘too pessimistic’ on prospects

THE opposition has accused Taoiseach Brian Cowen of being “too pessimistic” about the country’s future prospects.

In a briefing with political correspondents on Sunday, Mr Cowen indicated that living standards would drop by 10% over the next two years.

This followed a similar warning in a speech made to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce earlier this year, in which he suggested the next generation would not have it as good as the present one.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said yesterday he had “more optimism about our future prospects” than the Taoiseach.

He pointed to party proposals to create 100,000 jobs over a four-year period as an example of how innovative thinking could lead the country back to recovery.

He also called on Mr Cowen to avoid “chasing down” the economy by taxing heavily in next week’s emergency budget.

Some analysts fear that steep tax increases would further depress consumer spending, as citizens would have less money in their pockets and be more cautious about their budgets.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore claimed at his party’s weekend conference that Mr Cowen was engaging in “defeatist talk”.

“Some weeks ago the Taoiseach made a speech to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce that got a lot of coverage and praise. There was a lot in that speech that I agree with, because, for once, he talked about the importance of jobs,” Mr Gilmore said.

“But there was something else he said with which I profoundly disagree. He said that the future for the next generation, for our children, will not be as good as it has been for us. That is defeatist talk. If that is the Government’s starting point for recovery, then they are already beaten.”

But while Mr Cowen had suggested in that speech that the next generation would have it worse, he also said belief and solidarity would be central to recovery.

“The profound change that’s happening in the global economy means we won’t revert to the high rates of growth we saw in the past, but we can revert to growth more quickly if we stick together as a community, if we keep believing in ourselves that we will get over this problem, not out of some blind faith, but out of a clear strategic direction.”

The cabinet held its latest meeting to discuss the emergency budget yesterday.

It came as Ireland’s credit rating was lowered by ratings agency Standard & Poors because of the deteriorating nature of the public finances.

Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton said this would make Government borrowing even more expense, and was “bad news for Ireland at a very bad time”.