Quinn: Missing austerity targets would lead to suspension of public sector wages

PUBLIC sector workers will go without pay if the Government misses its stark austerity targets, a senior minister has warned.

In a bleak assessment of the next phase of the financial crisis, the Government put the country on notice of even tougher times ahead.

Education Minister Ruairí Quinn insisted that unless Ireland stuck to the fortnightly austerity targets it must deliver to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt there would be no money left in ATMs to pay state wages.

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar made it clear that the autumn spending review would herald even greater hardship.

“There are going to be much harder and much tougher and much more painful decisions made by this government in the coming months,” he said.

Warnings of the deteriorating financial situation came as the Government denied opposition charges that it had abandoned its battle to reduce the interest rates on Ireland’s massive bailout loans in the face of French insistence of a balancing cut in corporation tax.

Mr Quinn issued his stark pronouncement after being stung by Dáil attacks from People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett over his U-turn on tuition fees.

The row erupted as Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the Government was still fighting for a rate cut after Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he would rather not accept the reduction if it meant being forced to raise corporation tax.