Unions expect next 48 hours to be crucial

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Trade union leaders believe that crucial issues in the new national economic-recovery programme could come to a head quite quickly.

The general secretary of the Irish Nurses’ Organisation, Liam Doran, said the next 48 hours would probably be critical in balancing income and expenditure “in terms of realising savings that all parties say have to be achieved in 2009″.

Mr Doran said that a lot of preliminaries were still being worked through at the talks. He said the INO’s position remained that it opposed cuts in pay and would resist these with all means available.

Blair Horan, general secretary of the Civil Public and Services Union, said the trade unions did not yet know the detail of the Government’s proposals for saving €2 billion in exchequer spending this year. He said this information would come tomorrow - probably tomorrow night.

Mr Horan said the main thing was that those who could afford to bear the burden should bear most of the burden while people on lower or average incomes should not have to bear the same sort of burden.

Earlier today, the social-justice campaign group Cori Justice proposed that the Government could generate around €11.7 billion by increasing its total tax take to just below the EU average over a five-year period.

In a submission to the talks on a national economic-recovery program, Cori recommended that all tax breaks should only be available to be claimed at the standard rate. It also proposed the introduction of a new land-rental tax that would be based on the annual rental value of a property if there were no buildings on it.

Cori has also proposed the introduction of a carbon tax but said this would have to include protections for poorer and rural households.

Cori said these measures would generate over €11 billion in a five-year period and would leave the total tax take still 1.5 per cent below the EU average.

It also suggested that additional funding could be made available through better value-for-money initiatives and by improving efficiencies. Cori said the country could not have European level of services while at the same time having US levels of taxation.

The organisation has also proposed that as part of measures to save €2 billion in exchequer spending this year the Government should not introduce the new contract for hospital consultants and should look again at making savings on fees paid to pharmacists.

The trade unions are currently meeting with the Government over drawing up an economic-recovery plan.

The executive of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions met today to review progress in the talks. The employers’ body Ibec also held talks with Government officials to review progress made to date.

The talks today dealt with energy and regulation issues. They are expected to resume tomorrow afternoon.