TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen said the Government would continue with a “very significant” capital investment programme as part of the National Development Plan. However, he said all Government policy had to be put into the context of fiscal budgetary management.
He said the signal he was sending out in comments on the plan in the Dáil on Wednesday was that the economy had to be managed prudently in the interests of the country. “Any temporary adjustments to avoid permanent damage to the economy have to be considered and dealt with.”
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Mr Cowen said there had been no change in the Government’s overall strategic approach which was to deepen the skills pool, to invest in infrastructure and to provide building blocks for future growth.
He was commenting on claims by Fine Gael that he had admitted for the first time on Wednesday that the plan was not secure and was predicated on the prevailing financial circumstances.
“We intend to continue with the very significant capital investment programme which is part of the National Development Plan and to do that in keeping with our commitments as members of the euro.
“All of our commitments are put into context. We have to work within the Stability and Growth Pact commitment as members of the euro area. That is fundamental no matter what government you have. So that is what we will do.”
Mr Cowen said that in the Dáil on Wednesday he had been asked about specific commitments for the next seven years in respect of one particular area.
“These are issues that will be managed, and people will expect us to manage them in the context of the economic environment in which we operate.
“We will continue to apply priority to our capital investment programmes. I never said anything to the contrary.”
The Taoiseach said the Government dealt with both capital and current expenditure in its budgetary approach, and he had made it clear that the rate of growth in current expenditure would have to moderate in the context of tax revenues not being as buoyant as they were previously.
“I would also make the point that you are looking at averages of 4 per cent of growth over the full period of the plan up to 2013. In the immediate future of this year and next year there will be challenges to achieve the growth rates that we were previously expecting.
“Over the medium term we expect to resume those growth rates in due course once the environment improves. What is important for us strategically as a country is to continue to invest in the productive capacity of the economy that when the upturn comes we are ready to take the advantages that that will bring.”
Mr Cowen said the people knew the country could not be immune from adverse developments that had taken place internationally. Every other country was having to contend with the same sort of problems. “We are in a particularly strong position because of the success of our policies to date to withstand some of that turbulence and difficulty.
“We have to manage our affairs carefully and properly and appropriately in the circumstances in which we find ourselves...”