爱尔兰公布财政紧缩计划

The Irish government has unveiled a range of tough austerity measures designed to help solve the country's debt crisis.

爱尔兰政府公布了一系列旨在解决国家债务危机的紧缩措施。

Among the spending cuts and tax rises are a reduction in the minimum wage, a new property tax and thousands of public sector job cuts.

The four-year plan is designed to save the state 15bn euros ($20bn; £13bn).

The government is also negotiating a bail-out package with the EU and IMF, expected to be worth about 85bn euros.

However, controversy surrounds the government's growth forecast - which is crucial for its deficit forecast over the next four years - and which many economists consider too optimistic.

Meanwhile bond markets have expressed their displeasure, with yields on Irish government bonds returning to the same elevated levels they were at before talks over the bail-out began.

Spain is also being caught up in a broader loss of confidence in eurozone governments, with the yield on its 10-year bond rising above 5% for the first time since 2002.

Tax rises

Key points of the recovery plan include:
24,750 public sector jobs cuts
2.8bn euros of savings in social welfare spending
1.9bn euros to be raised from income tax changes
1 euro cut in the minimum wage to 7.65 euros an hour
VAT rise from 21% to 22% in 2013, and to 24% in 2014
the corporation tax rate remains unchanged at 12.5%
a new "site value" property tax to raise 200 euros from most homeowners by 2014.

Finance minister Brian Lenihan said that the spending cuts would be concentrated in areas of highest spending - pay, pensions and social welfare.

"It is important to understand these are key drivers to expenditure（支出，花费） and will be curtailed," he told a press conference.

The government has said it wants to protect health and education spending as far as it can.

Over-optimistic?

Controversially, the plan does not include any revision to the government's growth forecast, which is considered by most private economists to be too optimistic.

The government still expects the economy to average 2-2.5% growth in 2011, and 3.5-4.5% the year after. The figures include the effect of inflation.

But rating agency Standard & Poor's - which cut the Republic's credit rating on Tuesday night - said it expects virtually no growth over the next two years.

Lower growth would mean lower tax revenue and higher unemployment benefit payments, and could lead to bigger losses at Ireland's banks, than is currently forecast by the Irish government.

Publication of the plan follows days after the arrival of the EU and IMF negotiating team.

But speaking to the BBC, Mr Lenihan denied the delegation had a role in drafting（起草，挑选） the plan, saying it was "our work and our work alone."