Ahern warns of tough times ahead
Bertie Ahern tonight warned of tough economic times ahead following the end of his country’s Celtic Tiger boom.
He made the forecast on the eve of a parliamentary debate on an opposition motion of no-confidence in Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy.
The Fine Gael party launched the move against the minister following a rash of bad economic indicators – including Mr McCreevy’s first formal admission that the boomtimes were over and official figures from his department showing €1bn deterioration in Ireland’s financial position last month.
The exchequer returns also reported that at the end of October the government had to borrow €439 million to balance the books after having a surplus of nearly €600m four weeks earlier.
At the same time, the Irish Central Statistics Office has put the gross domestic product at 6.5%, and indicated that consumer spending in the second quarter represented the slowest rate of growth in recent years, with capital investment falling back by 1.1%.
Mr Ahern, mounting a defence of his beleaguered most senior colleague, said he had total confidence in Mr McCreevy, describing him as “a good minister for finance“.
The Taoiseach said that in the good times Mr McCreevy had brought in a fairer tax system and other reforms and he believed he could now manage through more difficult times.
He conceded there were going to be a few tough years but maintained that if they were managed properly the country could come out of them well.
Mr Ahern added: “We have to do what is the right thing for the country.”
Fine Gael finance spokesman and deputy leader Richard Bruton tonight condemned Mr McCreevy, however, for “undermining the ability of the economy to cope with the present downturn“.
He also accused the minister of deceiving the public about the true state of government finances.
