THE ECONOMY was a strong one and had not turned into a bad economy overnight, the Taoiseach said yesterday. Ireland’s economy was “good and sound and sophisticated” and, with the necessary discipline and investment, it would be ready to take advantage of the upturn when international circumstances improved.
Launching the Mid-Shannon Tourism Investment Scheme at Birr Technology Centre, Co Offaly, Brian Cowen departed from his script to issue a rallying cry on the economy, highlighting recent achievements and pledging to provide the necessary leadership to overcome current difficulties.
Mr Cowen said the new scheme, which provides tax relief for expenditure on tourism facilities in the mid-Shannon area, was a great opportunity that was just one of many that must and can come from the regions.
The Mid-Shannon Corridor includes parts of Clare, Galway, Roscommon, Westmeath, Offaly and Tipperary. The board for assessing projects consists of Galway financier Tom Hyland as chairman, Dublin-based financier Frank Hussey, Paul Keeley of Fáilte Ireland and John King and Joan Reynolds, both of Shannon Development.
The Taoiseach said: “In the more straitened times and more challenging environment that we’re heading into, we have nothing to fear if we’ve devised strategies and rely on our own ingenuity and ability to create and add value.
“We as a Government must ensure we get added value from the money that we spend, better outputs and better services, recognising that we won’t have the same level of revenues as we had in the past.
“That’s understood by everybody, and to postpone the necessary corrective measures would only mean that the adjustment would be even greater in the future: we have learnt that from bitter experience in the past as well.
“So we will provide that leadership, and social partnership will provide the forum for us to work out solutions together, as we have done in the past, to make sure that we come through this turbulence that’s there at the moment in the international economic environment.
“But we have a strong economy – a strong economy – one that has not turned into a bad economy overnight. It’s a strong and good and sound and sophisticated economy, but we have a duty as a Government to maintain discipline in our public finances in order to consolidate and maintain the progress we’ve made thus far and be ready to take the upturn internationally when it comes, by investing now for the future.”
Of the Mid-Shannon Tourism Investment Scheme, Mr Cowen said: “This scheme is a fiscally-driven measure, but one that is balanced and well thought out, and that has learnt from experience with previous schemes, takes the best of those and adds other elements to it to ensure quality of outcome and output.”
