TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has expressed confidence that Ireland will come through the current economic crisis, by means of taxation, expenditure cuts and promoting growth.
Speaking without notes at the social and economic development forum of Monaghan Chamber of Commerce yesterday, he said it was a privilege to hold the office of Taoiseach, “at any time and particularly at this time”.
Noting that the crisis was regarded as “probably the worst we’ve seen in 70 years”, Mr Cowen highlighted the wide gap between State revenue and public expenditure.
“And that gap between what we are spending and what we are bringing into the exchequer as a country is not a sustainable gap. It has to be closed and it will be closed by way of taxation, cuts in expenditure and promoting growth,” he said.
He said it is “important to recognise that the confidence that we need to see, the predictability for investment to come, the means by which we can return to growth and prosperity and profitability and job-creation again, have to be built on the firm foundation of stable public finances”.
It is necessary to “calmly, rationally and intelligently face up to the magnitude of what we have to do and recognise that changes have to be made, that changes are being made and that further changes are necessary”.
The Croke Park agreement is needed, he said, in order to replace “an old industrial relations structure that simply is not fit for purpose if we want to make the changes that have to be made in the coming months and years”.
Remarking that there are some who regard the banking crisis as “the sole source of our problems”, Mr Cowen added: “If we never had that crisis, we have a problem in relation to our public finance position that doesn’t go away.”
He further said that, “if you put a hole in the revenues of any country to the tune of almost a third of your tax revenues, then you have to take remedial action, which is what we have been doing”.
Concluding, he said: “I come here, to honestly and openly say to you, in the position that I hold as Taoiseach, which is a privilege to hold at any time and particularly at this time, this country can and will come through its difficulties.
“We can come through them, working together to the best of our ability, recognising the differences that we have and the democratic debate that will always ensue and must be a part of our public debate.
“But we can do it only on the basis of recognising that we have obligations under the euro currency, we are members of the European Union, we have to get our public finances back into order by 2014, and that is the way it has to be.”
At a news conference earlier, Mr Cowen was asked if the policy positions recently expressed by Eamon Gilmore had in effect ruled out a consensus with the Labour leader. The Taoiseach replied that agreement between the parties would send a “positive signal” and he added: “people need to retain a positive approach to this idea.”
