Fine Gael promised business people today the party would not "hinder" enterprise if it is elected to Government, but will help them "trade their way out of recession".
In the first of a series of "business forums", party leader Enda Kenny presented what he said was the party's pro-business menu for change. This includes cutting red tape, freezing local authority charges for three years, reviewing the travel tax and exempting businesses from employers' PRSI payments in relation to new staff.
"It's not for me to go around the country to say I'm here to create jobs. The job of the politician is to understand that good politics in a society like ours is to release certain blockages and allow jobs to flourish," Mr Kenny said in Dublin's Hilton Hotel.
Mr Kenny was accompanied by his economic team, which comprises finance spokesman Richard Bruton; deputy finance spokesman Kieran O'Donnell; enterprise, trade and employment spokesman Leo Varadkar; and communications, energy and natural resources spokesman Simon Coveney. The event was chaired by the recently elected TD and former RTÉ economics editor George Lee.
Mr Kenny gave the well-attended forum his pitch to be the next Taoiseach: "This party is preparing for Government. I'm not sure when the next election is going to be, but I know we're going to win it."
The party's spokesmen summarised the Fine Gael position on a range of business issues, including its proposal for a new State industrial holding company, NewERA, which it first announced in March. The "super manager" would oversee five commercial bodies, known as Smart Grid, Broadband 21, Irish Water, Bioenergy Ireland and Greener Home Bank.
Mr Coveney denied suggestions from Fianna Fáil that the new structure, which involves the abolition or merger of some existing semi-state bodies, would lead to the creation of five quangos. "This is about setting up commercial companies. These companies will have to wash their own faces in terms of getting a return," he said.
Fine Gael proposes to raise an estimated €1 billion from the sale of Bord Gáis, although it plans to retain the gas pipeline. It believes it can secure €2 billion in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a further €5-€6 billion in money from pension funds looking to invest in long-term assets such as utilities.
Mr Varadkar said a 1 per cent cut in employers' PRSI on all staff would cost €500 million. "It's expensive, but maybe it would be more expensive to do nothing," he said.
Fine Gael is not proposing a reduction in the minimum wage, a policy that was recommended by the OECD in its report on the Irish economy yesterday. But it said that cuts could not be ruled out in the future.
"I think there's a threshold of decency here," Mr Varadkar said, in response to a question from a member of the audience who favoured "getting rid" of the minimum wage.
"Cutting their wages would not be courageous," the Fine Gael enterprise spokesman said. "If we have a problem with wages here, it's at the upper echelons of the public sector and in some professional services. The courageous thing to do is to go after these wages and if we can do that, then we can go after people who earn €18,000 a year."
Mr Bruton said there was no point postponing badly needed upgrades to the Irish infrastructure. "We cannot tax our way out of this recession, we have to trade our way out of it," he added.
The Fine Gael economic team plans to hold similar events for business people in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
