Nationally Fine Gael is demanding that every public expenditure proposal be examined in detail while locally the party make different demands. Fine Gael is trying to have it pull the wool over peoples’ eyes as to where it stands.

Before he was sacked by Enda Kenny the Fine Gael Finance spokesman Richard Bruton was calling for deeper cuts – he wanted €2billion shaved off the 2011 budget. Leo Varadkar wanted €3billion cut.

Last year Bruton suggested that this year’s budget should be cut by €5.4 billion. Harris is advocating exactly the opposite.

In Wicklow Fine Gael spokesman Cllr Harris disagrees – or seems to do so. He is complaining about the level of funding available for the public capital programme.

As most people know the economic situation has changed radically since the publication of the National Development Programme. It has been necessary to make cutbacks in all aspects of public expenditure.

The Government remains committed to an extensive Capital Investment Programme but is anxious to prioritise programmes to make sure they get in place and deliver jobs and infrastructure in the most cost effective manner.

In 2010 alone the Government allocation of €6.4 billion, at 5% of GNP, represents one of the highest proportional levels of capital infrastructure investment in the EU.

From 2011 and 2016, the Government will be investing a further €5.5 billion each year for a total investment (including 2010) of over €39 billion.

The Government is carrying out a major review of capital expenditure. This is to ensure the investment programme is targeted on necessary infrastructure that will help to best position Ireland for growth in the upturn.

Without anticipating the results of the capital review, I would envisage that the investment priorities going forward will encompass

• supporting employment, including labour intensive projects
• promoting the ‘smart economy’
• supporting Ireland’s international competitiveness;
• supporting investment;
• providing key social infrastructure

I note that Cllr. Harris disagrees with this approach. He wants funding set aside for Luas whether the project is ready to go or not. In fact he has promised  to consult Simon Coveny T.D. on matter.

It would be interesting to hear from either Harris & Coveny as to whether they reject what Bruton & Varadkar suggested as FG policy. Do they agree with the new Fine Gael spokesman Michael Noonan as to the necessity to make cuts?  If they do agree they should say precisely how they would finance any additional public spending on public capital projects. As additional borrowing is out of the question, what taxes would they increase?

The Fine Gael statement on Cllr. Harris’s behalf ignores not only current economic realities but also ignores the fact that when Fine Gael was last in power its record of capital investment in Wicklow was abysmal. It delivered nothing.  All of the new road networks, new schools & new infrastructure which we have in County Wicklow – including the extension of the Dart to Greystones was implemented by Fianna Fáil led governments.