POLITICAL REFORM and fiscal realism infuse the programme for government that has been agreed between Fine Gael and the Labour Party. There are omissions and fudges regarding pre-election promises by both parties. But a challenging agenda that includes job creation and economic management, political and administrative reform and health and education restructuring has been put in place that will test the abilities of the incoming coalition government to the utmost.
The decision to establish an economic council within cabinet, headed by Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore, to sign off on financial and banking issues, administrative changes and social protection measures may be one of the most important aspects of the deal. Its function will be to resolve difficulties between the parties; improve communications between ministers and help to redress the two-to-one imbalance that exists between the two parties in the Dáil. The splitting of functions at the Department of Finance to allow a Labour Party minister oversee public sector reform and expenditure while a Fine Gael minister fills the traditional role reflects that determination.
Most of the focus has been on Labour Party delegates who, last evening, adopted the programme by an overwhelming majority. But a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party was equally supportive. Following criticism of the harmful influence such documents have had on public finances in the past, it was thought the programme would be curtailed and lacking detail. It was not. It runs to 64 pages and ranges across the “wish lists” of most interest groups. It is, however, strikingly different in some respects. The political and administrative reform commitments are jaw-dropping in their scale and ambition.
A Constitutional convention will report on possible changes to the PR electoral system, a reduction in the voting age and other issues within 12 months. A referendum will be held on the abolition of the Seanad; a reduction in the number of TDs and cuts in judges pay. The pay, pension and expenses system for TDs and ministers will be changed. The Dáil will sit more frequently. The supremacy of the Executive will be diluted and the power of committees to investigate issues of public importance will be augmented. Freedom of Information legislation, the role of the Ombudsman and local authority reform will move centre stage. These are transformational ambitions.
Elsewhere, differences that divided the parties during the election campaign have blurred. The target date for a 3 per cent government deficit has been moved to 2015, rather than set for 2014 or 2016. The terms of the 2011 Budget, with its €3 billion in cuts, remain in place. There is, however, a commitment to review investment and spending programmes in the aftermath of what the parties hope will be successful renegotiations with the EU-IMF on the terms of the bailout. There is no shortage of political ambition concerning job creation and structural reform.
But, as Brendan Howlin warned Labour Party delegates, implementation of the programme will depend on economic growth and financial circumstances.