No time for short term popularity - says Taoiseach

Facing a room of friendly supporters at the Annebrook Hotel must have proved a welcome sight for the embattled Taoiseach, Mr. Brian Cowen, TD who woke up to headlines which reported that his personal popularity was at an all time low.Addressing the gathered Fianna Fáil faithful for over twenty minutes the Taoiseach"s message was one of digging trenches for a long-term haul but his speech hinted at the glimmer of light just visible at the end of the recession tunnel.'What we are currently doing is making decisions that are not about short-term popularity but will prepare us for when this recession comes to an end,' he said.The Taoiseach admitted that the country"s standard of living would drop and the recession would create what he described as 'casualties' but aimed to console the gathered business community with talk of a 15 per cent reduction of electricity costs and more access to credit for small to medium- sized businesses.Fianna Fáil party members and supporters who had paid €60 a head to attend the breakfast meeting were told that the much-criticised cuts in public sector wages were a matter of simple maths and necessary to balance the books.'This year we will be taking €37 billion in revenue and spending €55 billion and so where does the deficit come from, how is that made up,' said Mr Cowen.'We have had to make some difficulty decisions but we have made them as a party, as a government which is looking after the best interests of the people that it serves.'Speaking to the press after his public address the Taoiseach criticised Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and said that his party had taken the hard decisions that the opposition would not.'Mr Kenny is never quite specific about what he would do,' he said. 'We have come forward and taken the tough decisions that he could and would not.'The Taoiseach fended off the accusation that his party"s tough cutbacks were not reflected in reducing salaries of Ministers and said that they too were subject to the pension levies and had taken a 10 per cent cut in their salaries.Facing down the tough question over the €4 billion transfer of funds by Irish Life and Permanent to Anglo Irish bank on the day that the government moved to underwrite Irish banks, the Taoiseach replied that the government had already seen a need for regulatory reform within the financial sector but gave no further details of how the issue would be approached.Earlier in his public address the Taoiseach had referred to the dealings in the American so-called sub-prime market as a major factor in the Irish economic crisis.'This is a global recession,' he said. 'We cannot afford to forget that this situation can be seen in Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the UK.'We have to stabilise our position in the EU and we have to show that we are able to balance our own books,' he said.'The economy is going to contract by 40 per cent this year and we need to show the member states that we have been active in our approach to fixing our own problems.'At the end of his speech the Taoiseach thanked the gathered assembly for their 'loyalty' and when he had finished was treated to a standing ovation from the party faithful.Councillor Ken Glynn who had organised the party conference said that while there had been concern over the previous night"s poll indicators, that the breakfast meeting had injected fresh hope into party members.'It was lovely to look around and see a room full of people with hope for the party,' he said.