Rebuilding confidence 'key to budget'

MINISTER FOR Finance Brian Lenihan has said that trying to rebuild confidence in an economy where over 400,000 jobs have been lost is a key concern in the run-up to December’s Budget.

This would mean, he said, that all sectors of society would have to work together in “making the very difficult decisions that are essential in ensuring that our children have a future in this country”.

He was speaking before his address to the annual dinner of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce last night. He said that the €22 billion gap in public finances had nothing to do with the banking crisis but could not continue.

“We have to address this issue for our own sake, not for the sake of anybody else, but for our own sake and for the sake of our economy.”

He said he would be laying out in the Dáil early in November the exact position the country will face if everything is left on a ‘no change’ basis.

In regard to the question of internal candidate Colm Doherty being mooted as the next CEO of AIB, Mr Lenihan said that the matter had been discussed between representatives of the board, himself and his officials.

“There is no decision on it yet. It is pure speculation,” he said.

The businessman Denis O’Brien said last night that he was concerned that the “witch hunt” on ministerial limousine and hotel expenses would have an adverse impact on Irish companies developing new markets abroad.

Mr O’Brien, the founder of Communicorp, said that public sector agencies like Enterprise Ireland, as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs, had done immense work in helping Irish companies develop new markets.

Speaking at the annual dinner of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, referring to the resignation of former ceann comhairle John O’Donoghue and further revelations about expenses, Mr O’Brine said they would actually impact on Irish companies.

“Trade missions to India, China or anywhere are nothing but hard work. Will Ministers now travel as much as before? I think not. Last week was like witnessing human hare coursing,” he said.

He was also highly critical of academic economists, who he said were “writing blogs, twittering and taking out ads to stop Nama”.

“They are generally just making a nuisance of themselves which would be fine if they all predicted where we are now. But 99 per cent of them didn’t and the other 1 per cent predict doom all the time”.

Mr O’Brien also said that it was vital that 80 to 90 per cent of the Bord Snip report be implemented. He also questioned the need for 35 city and country enterprise boards, saying that Enterprise Ireland already had the skill levels.