Economic growth may be slower so we must manage resources better but Ireland is still ahead of other EU nations, writes Bertie Ahern
The easiest thing for anyone to do is to look pessimistically at the economic situation. The hardest thing is to maintain an optimistic approach in the face of adversity.
We as a nation have very many grounds for optimism. We have a resilient, dynamic economic framework. We showed that in weathering a temporary setback in 2001. We have a Government that is confident of our future and is prepared to invest heavily in that future as testimony to that confidence.
We have a cohesive and united society supported by social partnership that is committed with the Government to find common solutions to common problems. We have a young, educated, flexible and ambitious population determined to advance their welfare and to conserve the vast social progress we have made in the last 10 years.
We have a society determined to protect those who are vulnerable and to equip itself with modern, efficient public services.
Budget 2008 is dedicated to achieving all these things by:
r Increasing capital spending by up to 12 per cent in 2008 to sustain the economy now in the key construction area and to build the infrastructure we need for the future;
r Maintaining and expanding public services by spending over 8 per cent more than last year with the focus clearly on health, education and welfare;
r Encouraging the productive aspirations of our people by further tax reductions for ordinary workers and by targeted incentives to stimulate enterprise and initiative;
r Developing more efficient and effective public services by continuing to press ahead with value-for-money initiatives;
r Setting ourselves ambitious but essential targets to protect and enhance our environment and by taking the necessary taxation and spending measures now to begin this process.
Everything can be criticised at one time or another. Performance can always be enhanced. Things can always be done better, and they will. The best way to encourage better performance is through careful preparation, leadership example and positive re-inforcement when things are done right.
Blame games, point scoring, negative commentary are the hallmarks of the nay-sayers, those who have little experience of actually doing things and who are content to bay from the sidelines - forever it seems. Those who, even when offered the chance to contribute constructively, have little useful to contribute. Those, in effect, with little promise because they have little to promise.
We are entering a period of lower growth, but growth that is still well above of EU neighbours. We will still create additional jobs. We will still create more wealth, but at a lower rate of increase than we have become used to.
This requires us to use our existing resources more effectively to support front-line services. It will be important that Government departments and ministerial colleagues continuously consider the relative merits of all their programmes and prioritise spending in a way which ensures that the programmes with the greatest benefit to society are the programmes which attract the greatest resources.
The public service has always responded to the challenge to produce better social outcomes in the past and I am convinced that we can harness their undoubted talent and dedication to do so for the future.
We must become more effective in what we spend on day-to-day services while investing heavily in the future through much increased spending on the National Development Plan.
We will continue to invest heavily in education at all levels. We will continue to promote research and development and to be ready to adjust policies as research and development requirements continually alter - that is the nature of innovation.
In this way the Budget offers the promise of a better Ireland, a more productive Ireland, a more effective, more caring and a greener Ireland. It is the first step on a road that we all travel together to see a cleaner, healthier and more inclusive society. This lies within all our grasp. It is a promise which the nay-sayers will not deflect this Government from delivering on.
Effectiveness in producing resources, fairness in distributing them and far-sightedness in deploying them is our aim. Protecting our environment is about being far-seeing and provident.
This means putting future generations' needs before short-term current desires. A lot of this debate has been injected with a moral dimension. To me it just makes common sense to seek to protect what is best in our physical environment when using that resource to meet current needs. In the longer-term scheme of things we are stewards, not owners, of our environmental resources.
We will maintain high levels of social spending, target inequality and disability, support families, whether working or not, and assist those on low incomes, pursue greater equity in the tax system - no government has done as much as we have in reducing unfair reliefs, guaranteeing a sustainable reward for work through the minimum wage and ensuring that those who rely on the State to support their income can aspire to catch up more effectively with those on average incomes.
All of these ambitions are fostered and promoted by maintaining sound public finances and a fiscal system conducive to enterprise and investment. We can see the example of many other countries with undoubted potential to grow and succeed but without the political stability or policy certainty to transform that potential into reality.
We have the will and the means to continue on this path and to take care of our environment in doing so.
That is my promise; that is this Government's promise - one we will deliver.