Taoiseach adamant scale of cuts essential

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has asked public service workers, who have bourne the brunt of the budget cuts, to remember that employees in the private sector have also suffered.

But he was adamant the scale of the cuts was essential to create jobs for the future and make the country competitive. Despite the massive budget cuts the cost of state borrowing rose on international markets in reaction to the difficulties faced by Greece, another member of the eurozone.

Mr Cowen said he believed the cost of debt would be reduced as the details of the Irish Government actions became known. “There is always a little time for people to accommodate and understand what it is the Government is achieving,” he said. Asked what he had to say to people in the public service earning less than €30,000 a year that were hurting as a result of the cuts, Mr Cowen said the savings were necessary.

“Of course it’s difficult. It has been difficult when you consider that in the private sector the cost of adjustment has involved serious job losses – 165,000 people in the last 12 months have lost their jobs exclusively in the private sector,” he said.

There was no option but to continue with the strategy of cutting costs and spending to secure jobs in the public and private sectors in the future and make the country competitive, he added. The country no longer has the option of devaluing the currency to react to crisis situations.

The Taoiseach, attending an EU summit in Brussels, said he believed the budget had been well received internationally, and at home.

“One of the purposes of the budget was a determination by the Government, and the Irish people, to show we can manage our own affairs and do whatever is necessary to show that we would stabilise the deficit... Having stabilised it and having sought to protect to the greatest extent we can the more vulnerable people in society, we can now proceed to work for recovery.”

The budget was welcomed by European economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia, who said it demonstrated Ireland’s commitment to taking effective action and was an important step towards stabilising and then gradually reducing the deficit to 3% of GDP by 2014. The budget aims to cut the deficit to 11.6% next year.