THE GOVERNMENT will attempt to correct the public finances in a manner that would be consistent with agreements such as the Croke Park deal on public service pay and reform, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels yesterday, where he was attending the Asia-Europe summit, Mr Cowen would not say whether the Government planned a review of the Croke Park agreement.
“We haven’t discussed any changes in relation to the Croke Park deal with the people with whom we’ve agreed it at all,” he said.
“We are in the business now of preparing a correction to our public finances for the next four years, which is necessary in any event and we have to sit down and work out how best to do that, but we would approach this on the basis of trying to do it in a way that would be consistent with agreements we have reached thus far.”
Asked if he was saying there would be no changes in public service pay or conditions, or redundancies, and no change to social welfare payments, he said he was not in the business of speculation.
“I don’t think that’s a reasonable approach. I’m simply saying that we are approaching these issues on the basis of trying to maintain the agreements we have reached and we will obviously be in discussion with the parties to those agreements in due course as well.”
He rejected the suggestion that these remarks implied he may very well seek to reopen the Croke Park arrangements.
“I didn’t say that at all. I really would ask people to perhaps quote what I’m saying and not trying to read in. This ability to interpret what I’m saying, different to what I’m saying, never ceases to amaze me,” he said.
“We made the decision last Tuesday to prepare a four-year budgetary plan, we are approaching that on the basis of obviously trying to maintain the agreements that we’ve already reached,” Mr Cowen said.
Although European officials question how the Government can achieve the required budget cutbacks without increasing corporation tax, the Taoiseach said the Government was clear in its intention to keep the rate at 12.5 per cent. A high-level EU official made the point that the tax rate merited review on the basis that it was individual taxpayers who had shouldered most of the burden of adjustment since the crisis began.
“Measures have to be spread between the revenue side and the expenditure side and a lot has been asked already of Irish citizens,” the official said.
“If something has to be done on the revenue side, nothing should be ruled out. In that case the burden should be fairly spread.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said the Croke Park deal had to be “fully tested”. Speaking in Cork last night, he said: “There’s a lot within the Croke Park agreement and that’s a two-sided approach and the unions have indicated that they are up for reforms and there has to be significant reforms emanating from the Croke Park agreement which can give savings.”
The Fine Gael press office said in relation to the Croke Park deal that finance spokesman Michael Noonan “has asked the Government to clarify their position on it and we are awaiting a response”.
A Labour spokesman said the party’s position in support of the Croke Park agreement had not changed: “We believe that Croke Park offers opportunities for genuine reform and genuine savings in the public sector.
“We are very concerned with the delays on the part of the Government in implementing the agreement,” the Labour spokesman said.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland yesterday, general secretary of the Impact trade union Shay Cody said the unions were keen to get the agreement working.
He said the unions had been calling on management in the public service to bring forward proposals for change, cost-savings, service improvements and cost-avoidance over the past number of weeks.
“I think there is an onus on management to step up to the plate. I think it would be unfair and improper if the trade union movement was to be blamed for any procrastination, because we are not causing it,” he said.
Unions were “willing and available” to co-operate once the other side brought forward proposals, he said. He did not believe the Government would look for 30,000 redundancies in the public service, as had been reported.
