Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Timms Excerpts

Tuesday 21st December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

Within the comprehensive spending review we have given priority to school funding. The pupil premium will help the poorest, which is indicative of the Government’s values in looking to the long term, looking at fairness, and ensuring that young people have an opportunity that they did not necessarily get under the previous Government.

[Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)]

10. What recent discussions he has had with his Irish counterpart on measures to reduce budget deficits.

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)]

The Government welcome Ireland’s effort to bring its fiscal deficit under control, and support the international assistance package currently being agreed to deliver stability.

[Stephen Timms]

The Chancellor used to speak of the Irish miracle as a shining example of economic policy making. Are there not, though, important lessons to learn from the misery that we are seeing in Ireland today? Is it not clear that simply increasing VAT, making large-scale public sector redundancies and cutting welfare does not add up to a successful path out of the global crisis?

[Mr Hoban]

Let me remind the right hon. Gentleman what he said about Ireland on 8 May 2007:

“The Irish economy has enjoyed a good deal of success over the past few years. The corporation tax regime has contributed to that, but there have been a number of other factors”.––[Official Report, Finance Public Bill Committee, 8 May 2007; c. 19.]

The truth is that the Irish economy, like our economy under the previous Government, had a banking sector that was poorly regulated and out of control. It is because we have tackled the legacy of the Labour Government that we are in a position to help Ireland.