Cowen admits errors made in economic crisis
He accepted he could not bury his head in the sand and blame the current crisis solely on international forces.
Successive Fianna Fáil-led governments since the mid-’90s did not act appropriately to limit the risk, he said.
However, he claimed without his actions as finance minister the economic meltdown “would have been far worse”.
“When I was minister for finance, I myself shared in [the] positive view of our prospects which was held by all the main research and international agencies.
“But contrary to what some are now trying to suggest, I was concerned about the potential vulnerabilities and risks arising from the rapid escalation in property prices,” he said.
Mr Cowen made his speech as a tee-up to the North Dublin Chamber of Commerce’s Annual General Meeting in DCU.
He listed eight mistakes that he said compounded Ireland’s woes. These largely focused on poor regulation of the banks; however, some were blunt admissions of the failure of governments that he was a senior figure in.
“There were property tax incentives in place over a period in the mid-1990s which, with the benefit of hindsight now, should have been abolished many years prior to my decision in December 2005 to abolish these incentives.”
And he said the higher requirements on lending for property speculation, introduced in early 2007, should have been imposed many years before the boom.
In defence of his own reputation, Mr Cowen selected certain policy decisions, adopted after he became finance minister, which softened the blow.
These included resisting “irresponsible” calls to abolish stamp duty, beefing up rules for lending to property speculators and the scrapping of 10 specific property-based tax incentives.
He also pointed the finger at the “stunning failure of corporate governance” of the financial institutions.
Mr Cowen said he shared the legitimate anger at how recklessness at these organisations had compromised the country’s viability.
However, he said he had bitten his tongue when asked to comment on this.
“As Taoiseach, I am determined that no comments which I make will in any way hamper the role of the Gardaí or the judiciary or other regulatory investigations,” he said.
