Opposition can’t have it both ways on banking debt

Fine Gael TD for Dublin South, Olivia Mitchell, has today  said that the Opposition can’t have it both ways when it comes to the bank debt deal achieved by the Government last week.

“The Opposition has some neck. On the one hand, they accuse the Government of exaggerating the benefits of a deal they refuse to accept has any merit, and, on the other hand, they want the proceeds of the deal spent on a variety of tax reliefs and on reversing spending cuts. They can’t have it both ways.

“The Government has been at pains to be realistic about the immediate benefits of the deal. While the deal is great news for the country, bringing with it savings in terms of money that will not now have to be borrowed and reduction in the deficit figure into the future, it is important for everyone to remember that we are still spending more money on public services than we are generating in revenue each year. There is still a lot of work to be done to rein this in.

“The Government has been very clear that there is no new pot of money to be frittered away. What the deal means is that there will be an annual €1 billion reduction in the deficit figure. On top of that, we won’t have to borrow €20 billion to pay the promissory notes over the next decade.

“The Opposition is being disingenuous by letting people think we are going to get a debt write down. They knew that was never going to happen and it is irresponsible of them to pretend otherwise. It is the Opposition and not the Government, who are irresponsibly raising expectations.”