Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----in having a technical restatement that provided €2 billion in fiscal room. It appears the last thing the Government wants is an informed debate on the economy because that might get in the way of its campaign to claim credit for everything.

The return to growth has been helped by fiscal consolidation. There is no doubt about this, but fiscal consolidation is not the reason Ireland has returned to strong growth. As the OECD has pointed out, the core growth potential of the economy is set by the skills and dedication of the people, together with an infrastructure which is radically improved from that of 20 years ago. This did not happen overnight and to try to claim that growth has come from short-term measures is to ignore the current strength and best direction for the economy. As the OECD has also pointed out, the specific spark for growth has been recovery in key markets and the major changes in EU and ECB policies.

The new international environment has been essential for growth in Ireland; therefore, to fail to even acknowledge the threats to Ireland from a European slowdown is, at best, negligent. Why is ours the only government in Europe which is introducing a budget without addressing the concerns which are dominating political and economic debates in every other country? Instead of a considered vision for the future of the economy and the society it will support and instead of an approach which learns the lessons of the past, what we have is a series of targeted election measures designed to have an impact for no more than one year and a few months.

Just as public investment in skills and infrastructure was central to past growth, it is essential to sustained growth in the future. It was mentioned in the budget speeches but without any major initiative being announced. We cannot understand how the Government keeps refusing to publish a development plan which sets out specific objectives for future investment. It is becoming ever more reliant on projects which address immediate political needs or were planned years ago. The small increase in public investment announced yesterday will provide only a small stimulus to the economy and does not represent any strategic commitment. An investment of €210 million in an economy the size of Ireland’s is not a significant stimulus. A larger and more ambitious public investment programme is required and possible. The most important factor is that it would create long-term State assets which would raise the growth generating capacity of the economy. It is not about a short-term fix; it is about doing something permanent to address the needs of the country. What we had yesterday was the reannouncement of many projects which were happening in any event and new ones which would be part funded by allowing existing infrastructure to decay.  For example, projects already announced to cater for an increased school enrolment are to proceed, which is welcome, but they are part funded by cutting funding for minor works to maintain existing buildings.

Last year the European Union agreed to a series of measures to make capital funding available to member states. The Taoiseach told us this would bring billions to Ireland, but it has not. The refusal of the Government to plan for new projects or commit to co-funding means that we are missing major opportunities. The failure to present any analysis of long-term growth or even to plan, let alone fund, a public investment plan is a gaping hole in the economy. In this case, the road the Minister, Deputy Michael Noonan, has decided to go down is one on which he has refused to bring a map.

During the recent Labour Party leadership election it was said pushing Deputy Eamon Gilmore out was an essential first step in moving the Government to the left. There has certainly been a move to the left in the rhetoric used to sell the tax changes announced yesterday..

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