Dáil debates

Wednesday, 27 October 2010

Macro-Economic and Fiscal Outlook: Statements

 

4:00 pm

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

Hopefully, we will get a chance to go through all the ideas. I could not do so in seven minutes.

We accept the adjustment must be front-loaded and we must try to take on an extra chunk of the deficit in year one, but we must also front-load growth in the first two years. These are the toughest budgets in terms of seeking to protect growth and jobs. There must be a front-loaded growth strategy. We in Fine Gael have plans for that and the Government knows them. The Government has read them but has never tried to discuss them properly. I would ask the Government to read them and let us have a proper debate on them. We have more plans to add to them. We can use private and public pension funds, among other initiatives, to fund growth. The Government must not close the door on good ideas when it is calling for a consensus. Let us debate these ideas properly, as we have tried to do in recent weeks. I ask the Government to give a commitment that the budget will include proper growth strategies alongside cutbacks and other changes.

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