Government accused of covering up true financial damage
The Government was tonight accused of deliberately covering up the true extent of the financial black hole facing the state.
In a savage attack, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said he had lost all trust in Taoiseach Brian Cowen and his ability to reveal the true extent of the problem facing the country.
The Opposition leader ratcheted up pressure on Mr Cowen by demanding the Exchequer figures are independently checked ahead of the Budget.
Not only was the economy being destroyed, but the Government were “wilfully concealing the truth of the extent of that destruction from the Irish people in what amounts to a national catastrophe,” Mr Kenny said.
The Taoiseach has offered to meet Mr Kenny and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore tomorrow night for round table talks on the four-year plan for cuts.
Mr Kenny said Fine Gael would play a part in tackling the financial crisis but warned it would no longer do so on the basis of information provided by the Taoiseach.
He said that if the Government in another western democracy had acted in a similar fashion, it would have resigned in disgrace.
“Every figure produced by the Department of Finance, every figure produced by the Government has been wrong,” Mr Kenny said.
Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin yesterday held separate confidential meetings at the Department of Finance to help them devise their own four-year Budget strategies.
Fine Gael’s Finance Spokesman Michael Noonan said the Government had predicted the economy would grow by up to 3.5% next year, but the briefing revealed the real growth rates would be lower than that.
Labour Party Finance Spokeswoman Joan Burton branded the confidential figures very challenging, claiming the country was in a very critical situation.
Party leader Mr Gilmore questioned the Government’s credibility, and cast further doubt on the outcome of cross-party talks on the economy.
The Taoiseach said he would meet Mr Kenny, Mr Gilmore and Green Party leader John Gormley tomorrow evening to try to get consensus on a four-year Budget road map.
He said he was anxious to ensure the views of the Opposition were considered and claimed the move towards consensus would boost confidence among investors.
Mr Cowen also said a Dáil debate on the economy would be held next week, adding the level of savings needed for the coming years was higher than thought.
But Mr Gilmore said: “You’re offering a process to us ... but look what you’re asking us to engage in.
“It’s a process where the Government got us into this mess – every prediction that you’ve made over the last two years has turned out to be wrong and in most cases dramatically wrong.
“You want the Opposition to solve the problem for you, you want the people of the country to pay for it and meanwhile you want to stay in office. Do you seriously expect us to agree to that?”
In the Dáil the Taoiseach defended the Government’s handling of the economy, claiming its actions had stabilised the public finances..
“The facts are that the decisions that we took ... brought us from a position of contraction in the economy of over 10% of GNP in 2009, to stabilisation this year,” Mr Cowen said.
