Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has accused the Taoiseach of "dithering and incompetence" over the failure by Government to release the findings of the so-called An Bord Snip Nua and to draft legislation creating the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).
“You’re withholding the McCarthy report. You know what’s in it. You’re delaying publishing it so you won’t have to discuss it. We need to see what is in it," Mr Gilmore said during Leaders' Questions in the Dáil this morning.
“Legislating for Nama is urgent. Three months have gone by and on the eve of the recess of the Dáil we don’t have the legislation,” he said.
The report from An Bord Snip Nua, the Expenditure Review Committee chaired by economist Colm McCarthy, is believed to contain some 500 recommendations, including cuts in public service numbers and cuts in social welfare.
Mr Cowen accused Mr Gilmore of “playing the populist vote” saying the Minister for Finance had “made it clear” that legislation governing Nama would be enacted in September. “It’s a complex piece of legislation,” he said.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny pressed the Taoiseach on what plans the Government had for creating jobs.
“Fine Gael has put forward a detailed and costed plan for the creation and protection of 180,000 jobs. Ictu, Ibec, and the Construction Industry Federation have all put forward plans. They’re not perfect but they’re plans. There are 418,000 people on the live register. What is the Government’s plan for the creation of jobs?”
Mr Cowen said restoring growth to the economy would create and protect jobs. “In order to create jobs we have to bring order to the public finances, make the economy competitive and sort out the banking system. We’re in the worst recession for years,” he said.
Mr Kenny said the economy had overheated during Mr Cowen’s tenure as minister for finance.
“If the Government was big enough to accept mistakes you’d be closer to a national consensus on how to deal with the problems. We’ve a plan put forward by our party to create 100,000 jobs and protect 80,000 jobs. You don’t seem to have a plan. Will you take ours?”
Mr Cowen said he “wasn’t in the business of playing games”.
“All matters are being dealt with by Government on a planned basis. There needs to be cuts. Your policy is more cuts but no cuts. That’s your problem,” he added.
The Seanad could be one of the highest profile casualties of massive cutbacks drawn up An Bord Snip Nua, Labour deputy leader Joan Burton claimed.
Ms Burton said some of the specialist team charged with pinpointing huge savings for the public purse had their eyes set on the upper house of the Oireachtas.
The party’s finance spokeswoman also suggested some State departments could also be in the firing line of a cost-cutting package expected to claw back up to €5 billion.
But Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said he could not confirm the opinions of the board members or their conclusions before he was handed a copy of the report this evening.
Speculating on possible cutbacks, Ms Burton said it was crucial that the report was published so it could be properly debated.
“I understand that some members of the board are not over-impressed with Seanad Éireann and have suggested there might be retrenchment there,” she said. “Other members have suggested certain departments of State, in these straightened times that we’re in, don’t contribute as much as they otherwise might.”
Mr Lenihan insisted he would be anxious to give as much information as possible carried in the report to the Opposition. But he added it was a ultimately a decision for the entire Cabinet about what if anything is published.
Additional reporting PA