"Government has finally woken up to the scale of the crisis facing the economy"

Via The Angry Hedgehog and Breakingnews.ie

So we are going to have an early budget. October 14th to be exact. Is Brian Lenihan going to take a different tack to Darling in the UK (BBC Link) and actually try to talk positive about the economy and by doing three things that Fine Gael have outlined that will help the economy?

- Cutting waste
- Cutting tax
- And promoting substantive reform across the public sector

In ists statement the Government finally admitted our over dependence on the Construction industry which has been long evident to economists and non-expert alike!

Domestically we are also faced with a contracting construction

sector which is suppressing economic growth rates and a rising cost base is

eroding Ireland’s competitiveness. In addition, the slowdown has resulted

in a rapid deterioration in the public finances and falling consumer

confidence.

Fine Gael TD and Party Spokesperson on Finance, Richard Bruton, was quick off the mark to criticise the Governments slow reaction to the budget crisis.

The Government has finally woken up to the scale of the crisis facing the economy. This week's Exchequer figures and the unprecedented rise in the live register has prompted a belated response from Fianna Fáil. But the Government has squandered valuable time and sabotaged Ireland's ability to weather the economic downturn.

Even still, we will wait a further six weeks before we see any concrete proposals. The fear remains that this announcement is about filling a publicity cycle and is not based on a clear strategy. It remains to be seen whether this crisis Budget is about tax increases for families and businesses in the short-term and cuts in frontline services early next January.

We can only hope that the Government has a clear plan of action to rescue the economy, and is not hoping for a flash of inspiration between now and the Budget. Without a definite strategy, Fianna Fáil is likely to foist emergency tax measures on the public come October. Many of these will be stealth taxes which will hit the vulnerable members of society the hardest.

Fianna Fáil only has itself to blame for this debacle. Fine Gael has been warning for years that the Government's over-reliance on a debt-fuelled housing boom was unsustainable. Time and again I highlighted the risks inherent in Brian Cowen's economic strategy. As far back as 2005, the IMF and OECD issued stern warnings about the dangers that Brian Cowen's Budgets would overheat the property market and expose the economy to recession. They were comprehensively ignored.

So an early budget is a novel approach and alot better approach then a stamp duty holiday which is the route been taking by the UK which is a tried and failed method highted by Guido.

I wonder what intiatives they will come up with?