BUDGET FAILS TO LIFT ‘DEAD HAND OF AUSTERITY’ FROM ECONOMY
6 Dec 2011
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said that Budget 2012 has "failed to lift the dead hand of austerity from the economy and has done absolutely nothing for jobs."
Congress General Secretary David Begg said the Budget "contained nothing that would help breathe new life into the economy and kickstart growth.
"Without growth we are going nowhere and will continue to bump along the bottom without any prospects for recovery.
"In addition, the failure to target the better off and high earners means the burden of adjustment is not being fairly shared.
"But it is the failure on the jobs issue that is critical as that issue will determine how quickly we can emerge from this crisis."
Mr Begg said the one bright note was the Government commitment to investigate the idea put forward by Congress to incentivise investment by private pension funds in major job creation projects.
"This has the potential to create in the region of 100,000 jobs and significantly boost competitiveness by enhancing critical infrastructure in areas like broadband and transport," Mr Begg said.
He also welcomed the changes to the Universal Social Charge for the lower paid but expressed disappointment that the "opportunity was lost to increase the charge for those earning over €100,000."
Mr Begg said the increase in VAT was regressive and would add to inflation. "It would have been far better to place a temporary 2.5% levy on profitable corporations which would have raised more money and would not have had a negative impact on jobs," Mr Begg concluded.
ends