Oireachtas members to get budget proposals in advance

BUDGET DAY will be on Tuesday, December 6th, when Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will outline tax and spending decisions for 2012, which could include cuts of up to €4 billion.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil that in the run up to December 6th a series of documents on the budget and future fiscal plans would be published, allowing Oireachtas members to examine and discuss budget proposals in advance.

Mr Kenny told the house that such detail on budget and economic planning had never before been published before budget day.

The documents include a fiscal plan for 2012 to 2015; the capital spending plan to be introduced on November 10th when confirmation will be given on which capital projects will go ahead or be discontinued; public service reforms arising from the comprehensive spending review; spending estimates; and a white paper on receipts and expenditure.

The budget announcement came as the Minister for Finance introduced a Dáil debate on the Keane report on mortgage arrears in which Mr Noonan said there was no one “magic bullet or solution” to address the problem.

Mr Noonan said the Government and society must be open and willing to assist the people most in need of support in an appropriate way.

“However, where people are able to meet commitments they entered into, it should not be for society as a whole to offer benefits or gains to such groups at the expense of others who may have a far greater need,” he added.

“This is even more relevant against the background of the severe fiscal circumstances that the country currently faces.” Mr Noonan said the early reform of the personal insolvency legislation would be a central element in the majority of the resolution mechanisms proposed in the report.

Fianna Fáil finance spokesman Michael McGrath later introduced a private members’ Bill to tackle the mortgage and debt crisis. Mr McGrath said the “nuclear option of bankruptcy is not an appropriate option in the great majority of cases. Having a debt settlement system which is transparent, fair and can result in definitive solutions tailored for individuals is at the core of this Bill we are putting forward.”

Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said the Government would not oppose the Bill, “which in its own right attempts to establish certain principles in support of necessary reform”, but he said it fell short on scope detail and policy.