Opposition demands that McCreevy make statement

The Opposition renewed its demand that the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, make a Dail statement on the changes to the Budget.

The Fine Gael spokesman on finance, Mr Michael Noonan, said that what was in effect a supplementary budget, costing £125 million, was announced on Wednesday outside the House. "The Minister should come into the House and make his announcement in the normal way and allow for some debate on the new proposals he had made.

"The £125 million is bigger than some budgets we have had in recent memory in their totality. It is not just a minor amendment to what was announced last week. We need the Minister in the House, we need a statement, an explanation.

"The policy is all over the place. This is a fiasco. Parliament is the place where the Minister should be accountable."

Mr Emmet Stagg (Labour, Kildare North) called on the Government to indicate that the Minister would avail of the time being ordered for the Budget debate to make a statement to the House.

Mr Trevor Sargent (Green Party, Dublin North) and Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) also called for a ministerial statement.

The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said the Minister was on his way to Helsinki. "Deputy Noonan said the amount was bigger than budgets in recent years. That is true because the Rainbow budgets made Scrooge look very generous."

She said the Budget debate would resume next week and deputies would have an opportunity to comment. Although the House had voted on certain provisions of the Budget, it had not voted on the Budget itself.

Mr Pat Rabbitte (Labour, Dublin South West) said he found it extraordinary that any number of Fianna Fail backbenchers would debate the single-income family issue but would not talk about the low paid or the poor.

"I am not surprised the Minister for Finance is in Helsinki. It is colder there than what he is accustomed to here."

Ms Harney said she would communicate the views of deputies to Mr McCreevy. She was sure that if he wished to do so the Minister would avail of the opportunity to come into the House next week.

"When Deputy Rabbitte's party was in government it taxed people at £71 per week and did not introduce a minimum wage. Deputy Rabbitte is a fine one to talk about the low paid."