Taoiseach denies he is to blame for economic downturn

OPPOSITION CLAIMS that he was responsible for the economic downturn were rejected by Taoiseach Brian Cowen during sharp exchanges yesterday.

Mr Cowen said there was a challenge for the economy going forward. “We have to work within sustainable macro-economic budgetary policy. We will do that.”

He said the Government would take whatever corrective measures were necessary.

“The question I have for the Opposition is: will they support the corrective measures that are necessary to maintain economic stability?”

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny claimed the Taoiseach had demonstrated and proven over the past years, in his capacity as minister for finance, that he was “neither qualified nor able” to run the economy in the way that people expected.

“You blew the finances from the boom which everybody knew would be temporary,” said Mr Kenny.

He said he wanted to ask the Taoiseach a straight question: was the State in recession?

Mr Cowen said the most negative forecast was negative growth of 0.4 per cent. But there was also a consensus there would be some growth.

The ESRI, he added, had said the economy was better placed to emerge from the current difficulties than it was in the past.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said the Taoiseach had been talking about managing the economy. “Taoiseach, you have been managing the economy. You were minister for finance since 2004. You have just led our country into a recession.”

Mr Gilmore said Mr Cowen was the Minister who made a mess of the stamp duty issue.

He added that the current Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, had been “moaning his bad luck” at having been appointed as Mr Cowen’s successor.

“I just wonder how he would feel if he was one of the 580 employees of Hibernian Insurance whose jobs are being relocated to Bangalore.”

Mr Cowen said there had been surpluses in good times. “In more difficult, stringent times, we have deficits.

“That is what is called a counter-cyclical budgetary policy. That is the way you are supposed to run the economy.”

He said in running the economy that way over the past 10 years, hundreds of thousands of jobs had been created.

“With growth rates less than what we expected, due to the global economic environment, yes, it is challenging,” he added.

Mr Kenny said there was a time when Mr Cowen came into the Dáil as the “ultimate straight talker” and would have answered a question on whether the State was in recession.

He accused Mr Cowen of giving answers in Department of Finance “figures of speech”.

Mr Cowen said the ESRI was saying that, despite the negative short-term forecasts, the economy was better placed to emerge from the current difficulties than it was in the past.