PUBLICATION of the Government's spending Estimates for next year provoked immediate opposition claims of a spendthrift Coalition.
Shortly after the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, unveiled the Book of Estimates in his Department yesterday, Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats united in condemning the 6 per cent rise in public spending in 1997.
According to the Fianna Fail spokesman, Mr Charlie McCreevy, the Government had reneged on a commitment given by the three parties two years ago.
In December 1994, the Coalition pledged in its Programme for Government that growth in current supply services would be constrained to a maximum of 6 per cent in nominal terms in 1995 and to an average annual 2 per cent in real terms over the following two years. "This specific Government pledge has not been honoured. Indeed, in the very first year of the programme, 1995, current spending by the Government increased by almost 8 per cent," Mr McCreevy said.
Exchequer figures for this year already indicated that the increase in the levels of public expenditure over last year would be close to £750 million, a rise which amounts to a 6 per cent increase, be added. This was supposed to have been 4 per cent.
"The public spending Estimates indicate that 1997 is going to be no different. Again this Government will not honour its pledge. The news by the Minister for Finance that 1997 spending limits, which the Government set down for itself, will not be met, should come as no surprise to anyone, given the fiscal frittering and overspending which has characterised this Government to date."
The Progressive Democrats finance spokesman, Mr Michael McDowell, accused the Government of abandoning its commitment to control public spending.
"The 1997 estimates show a 7.2 per cent increase in non capital services spending over the 1996 estimates, published at a similar time last year. They show a 15.4 per cent increase over the 1995 non capital services spending. By any standards, this shows that public spending has never been contained during the life of the rainbow Coalition," Mr McDowell said.
An increase of this magnitude, when inflation was 5 per cent over the same period, showed that public spending had been allowed to increase in an uncontrolled way despite the clear target given by the Government at the time of publishing its Programme for Renewal. "Capital services have increased by 13 per cent over the 1996 Estimates and are up a massive 27 per cent since the 1995 Estimates were published. To understand the underlying growth rate in public spending, the best comparator is the pre Budget Estimates volume published each year at this time," he said.
Total public services spending had increased by 16.9 per cent over the same two years and each year the Government had complained about unforeseen items which, in order to justify deviation in spending targets, are described as once off increases in public spending.
"Year on year, the failure of this Government to adhere to the targets set out in the Programme for Renewal is becoming more obvious to everyone," he said.