merrion street

For a copy of the report, please download from: http://www.merrionstreet.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Programme-for-Government-Annual-Report-2013.pdf

Two years ago this month, this Government promised stability to a country in economic freefall. We promised renegotiation of the bailout deal entered into by the previous administration. We promised reform, of our politics, our banks, our public service. And we promised, at the end of a hard road: recovery.

We are delivering on those promises. The record of the past two years speaks for itself.

The EU-IMF deal renegotiated to cut the interest payments, and free up investment for stimulus.

Anglo Irish Bank, consigned to history, and a €20 billion saving on that debt for the people.

A claw-back of over €2 billion for the taxpayer from Irish Life and Bank of Ireland.

The economy returned to growth, and growing employment in the private sector for the first time in four years.

Action to get credit flowing into small businesses. To invest in future technologies. To invest in energy efficiency, schools, hospitals – all projects to get people back to work, and to deliver a social dividend.

Closing the deficit in our public finances, through decisive action, and by asking for a greater contribution from those who can afford it most.

Ireland, gone from being a problem case in Europe, to being its most likely success story.

And through all this, the commitment to reform, across all sectors of our society and of public life.

Social reforms in education. In a new project to tackle child poverty in our most marginalised communities. In building up healthcare teams in the community. In legislation to take action on climate change. In passing a landmark referendum on children’s rights.

Political reforms to transform local government, and the establishment of the Constitutional Convention. Reform of public services, in how our hospitals work; in the information parents have about schools; in turning our welfare system into one focused on work and training.

No one is claiming that it has been easy. And no one is claiming victory. But we can be confident in what has been achieved so far. And, because of those achievements – because of the steadfast courage of the Irish people in the face of unprecedented adversity – we can also be confident about our future. The future of our country. The future of our children.

When this Government took office, there was only five months’ worth of funding left to pay wages, to keep hospitals and schools open, to pay pensions and social welfare. Excluded from the international markets, our only other source of money was the bailout loan from the EU and the IMF. That deal came with onerous conditions. And it came at a high price. But in March of 2011, that was the choice we faced.

The banking system was on life support. Lack of credit was threatening to kill off the real economy. A quarter of a million jobs had been lost in the private sector in the preceding three years. Ireland’s reputation as a place to invest, and a place to do business, was deeply damaged in every international boardroom, and in every capital.

So let’s be clear-sighted about what has been done over the past two years;

realistic about the challenges we still face;

but confident, too, in our capacity to recover, to put this crisis behind us, and to face the future with hope.

In two years, and with the effort and support of the people, our country has moved from chaos to stability. And we have done that, not by denying our country’s problems, but by taking action to deal with them.

We have not got everything right, all of the time. People have made sacrifices that it will take time to repay. As a Government, we have no greater task, than to ensure that our people – and all of our people – benefit from recovery.

That means focusing, might and main, on getting people back to work, and helping create jobs for people to come home to.

It means seeing the personal insolvency reforms deliver relief, this year, for people with distressed mortgages.

And it means forging ahead with the social reforms that will be the hallmark of a modern, post-crisis Ireland. This year, the Government will legislate for the X case. It will hold a referendum to abolish the Seanad. It will put Ireland on the path to universal health insurance.

Now is the time to get on with finishing the task we started.

In building on what we, as a country, have achieved so far.

In moving – as a people – forward, not back.