Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The mid-term fiscal consolidation plan has been approved by the EU Commission for some time. During the course of this year the Minister introduced a supplementary budget in April. He has indicated since then that he believes the bulk of the savings that will have to be achieved for 2010 should come on the expenditure side rather than on the taxation side. He made that position clear. That approach is generally recognised as being in the right direction. In preparation for the budget we are maintaining the mid-term fiscal consolidation proposals on the basis that a serious deferral of it over a longer period would increase the debt service repayments and the amount of existing resources going towards debt service interest, which is not in the interests of the country in the long term. The question of stabilising the public finances and working along the procedures and plans as outlined by the Minister for Finance remains the position of the Government, forms the central framework under which the Government is operating and that will continue to be the case.

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