FRANKFURT (MNI) – Ireland’s reputation has been damaged due to the
recent debt crisis, but the austerity measures recently unveiled will
put the country back on the path “to sound sustainable growth,” Irish
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said in the Financial Times.
In a commentary published in Thursday’s edition of the business
daily, the finance minister highlighted the four-year recovery plan
unveiled on Wednesday, which he said “sets out a credible path to
reducing our deficit to 3 per cent of GDP by 2014.”
“In the past two years we have made fiscal adjustments worth almost
E15 billion,” the minister said. “In the next four years we will make
more, worth another E15 billion, with E10 billion from expenditure cuts
and E5 billion from revenue-raising measures.”
“Ireland needs to grow its way into recovery,” Lenihan continued.
“The plan identifies the areas of economic activity which will provide
growth and employment, and commits to the retention of our 12.5 per cent
corporate tax rate.”
Lenihan conceded that Ireland’s reputation had suffered recently,
but stressed a number of the nation’s qualities.
“[I]t is worth recalling that the World Bank puts us in the top 10
in the world for ease of doing business and we rank second in Europe for
productivity and flexibility,” Lenihan noted.
The finance minister lauded the benefits that Ireland has enjoyed
due to its membership in the European Union, as well as the “solidarity”
shown in Europe and “the enduring support and friendship of our partners
around the world.”
However, “the task of rebuilding the economy is ours,” Lenihan
said.
–Frankfurt newsroom +49 69 720 142; e-mail:frankfurt@marketnews.com —
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