Coveney insists FG can deliver tax cuts if returned to power

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has insisted Fine Gael can deliver tax cuts, investment in public services and a reserve fund for an economic emergency if it is returned to power.

He said the party would ensure the economy is properly managed and continues to grow.

Mr Coveney said as a result of growth in the economy, the incoming government will have a surplus of around €12 billion, which would allow it to both cut taxes and invest in public services as well as provide money for an emergency economic fund.

"Fiscal space is created by a growing economy and nobody should take that economic growth for granted, the progress that Ireland is making today in terms of creating about 1,400 jobs a week , that has been hard earned and it's been a result of people making sacrifices.

“It’s also been the result of Government making decisions, some of them unpopular but they were the right decisions so the idea that if some of the opposition parties were to take the reins of power, that we can assume economic growth will continue into the future is not one I buy into.”

Mr Coveney said Ireland might indeed start to regress economically if some opposition parties were to end up in government, and both Fine Gael and Labour would be urging voters to look at the Government's track record when it comes to voting in the forthcoming general election.

“We have done the hard yards to get the economy growing again - stick with us and we can now deliver on the social services that you want.” he said.

“We also think that figure of €12 billion would allow us do other things - it will allow us abolish the USC, which essentially will make Ireland a much more attractive place to come home and work as well as increasing people’s take home pay which I think people deserve and want on the moment.”

Mr Coveney said in addition to providing funding to address healthcare and housing issues, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan was correct to suggest that funding be set aside to deal with any possible economic downturn to keep the economy on a steady path.

“It’s not just a rainy day fund - what Michael Noonan is talking about is building up a fund so that if something does happen in the economy that requires an injection of capital to get some impetus back into the economy that we actually have a fund to do that.

“This isn’t like a pension reserve fund that will be saved for long periods of time - this is about creating a fund that can be used as a countercyclical measure if we have pressures on the economy we will have some money to spend to get it going again.”

Describing such a move as “prudent and sensible”, Mr Coveney said he expected Fine Gael to clarify the exact breakdown between public service investment, tax cuts and emergency economic fund provision during the election campaign when it publishes its fiscal policies.