Fine Gael's Plan to save €2bn in 2009

Pay/increments/bonus freeze in Public Sector * €500m
5,000 Redundancies in back office staff €250m
Pay cuts for those earning 100k+ €100m
€850m on payroll
Carbon windfall tax on power generators €300m
€300m on new tax revs
Switching generic drugs for brand name drugs (see note) €200m
Elimination and merging of QUANGOS €50m
Closing down further spending on Decentralisation €100m
Overhaul of FAS operations €150m
Reduction in CIE Subvention following intro of competition est. €100m
Efficiency reviews & bureaucratic streamlining** est.€200-€250m
€950m savings/reform

TOTAL
€2,000m

* FG have proposed a two year pay freeze to the end of 2010 which would save approx. €1.1bn in 2010.
** The type of issues that can generate the additional savings Fine Gael are targeting include; Oireachtas reform - cutting Junior Ministers, Dáil Committees, Ministerial support staff etc, disposing of the e-voting machines, instigating savings through a overhaul of public sector procurement practises, securing savings from the costs of managing our immigration and asylum system given the rapidly deteriorating numbers applying to come here and cutting the fees paid to lawyers under the Legal Aid scheme. There are undoubtedly other areas where savings can be made but a more detailed access to programs and line managers would be required.

Note: Power companies currently charge consumers for the cost of carbon allowances used up in power generation, even though they get these allowances for free from the Government. This isn't fair. Fine Gael would introduce a carbon windfall tax on power generators that would raise €300m per year and help reduce taxes elsewhere or help keep vital services in place.