Cori: Don't cut services

Social justice group Cori today set out a series of proposals for the Government to consider when devising its mini-budget due next month.

The body claimed the state should not introduce widespread cuts to services, but revise the National Development Plan and increase the tax take while protecting and enhancing social welfare rates and supports.

The Cabinet yesterday met to discuss what steps should be taken in the April budget.

Cori Director Dr Sean Healy said the country must turn from a world of greed to one of generosity.

“An alternative to the present dominant view of the world and how it should function is required,” he said.

“We need to move from a world that is built on individualism, anxiety and greed to a world that is built on the reality of abundance, the need for generosity, the dignity of the person and the centrality of the common good.”

Dr Healy said the policy decisions of the late 1990s, the boom years of the Celtic Tiger, should not be repeated.

“It is important that this fact be recognised and acknowledged before decisions are made on the second Budget for 2009,” Dr Healy said.

“Otherwise the mistakes of the past may be repeated and the decisions made may serve to worsen the situation rather than provide a pathway towards a solution.”

Here are some of the proposals outlined in Cori’s policy briefing:

:: Do not try and solve the crisis by imposing widespread cuts to services, and protect social supports.

:: Revise and reprioritise the National Development Plan, giving priority to initiatives that will tackle the rising unemployment level.

:: Increase the tax-take.