A/HRC/17/34/Add.2 The adjustments were to be front-loaded, with the Government intending to undertake 40 per cent of the adjustment in 2011. Two-thirds of all budgetary adjustments will take the form of reductions in public expenditure; one-third will be comprised of tax- and revenueraising measures.15 20. On 7 March 2011, the new Government published their Programme for Government and National Recovery 2011-2016 (PGNR), to guide Ireland’s economic and social recovery from the crises. The PGNR sets out a program of adjustments and policies, introducing a number of new initiatives and retaining some of the previous recovery policies. The PGNR indicates that the Government has chosen to delay the achievement of a 3 per cent deficit to 201516 and to seek the renegotiation of the EU/IMF loan, particularly the applicable interest rate. 21. From a human rights perspective, many of the recovery measures proposed and pursued in successive budgets and recovery plans are concerning. While human rights do not dictate exactly what policy and budgetary measures States should pursue, such measures must comply with States’ international human rights obligations. Human rights are not a policy option, dispensable during times of economic hardship. It is vital, therefore, that Ireland immediately undertakes a human rights review of all budgetary and recovery policies and ensures that it complies with the following fundamental human rights principles. A. Using the maximum resources available 22. States must devote the maximum available resources to ensure progressive realization of all economic, social and cultural rights by its population, as expeditiously and effectively as possible.17 According to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) (general comment No. 3, para. 12), this is so even during “times of severe resources constraints whether caused by a process of adjustment, economic recession, or by other factors.” 23. Despite its economic troubles, Ireland remains an affluent country with a relatively high GNP per person. An assessment of whether or not a State is using the maximum available resources to ensure compliance with economic, social and cultural rights obligations depends on how the State generates and mobilizes resources. In this context, the independent expert is concerned about the low level of taxation in Ireland, indeed lower than most other European countries.18 Low levels of domestic taxation revenue can be a major obstacle to a State’s ability to meet obligations to realize economic, social and cultural rights. The Government must ensure that the recovery policies, which to date have mainly focused on instituting cuts to public expenditure without significantly altering the taxation rate,19 are the most effective means of protecting the economic, social and cultural rights of the population, particularly the most disadvantaged groups in society. 24. While the State is entitled to decide the scale and pace of adjustments, the independent expert notes that seeking to achieve adjustments primarily through expenditure cuts rather than tax increases might have a major impact on the most vulnerable segments 15 16 17 18 19 NRP, p. 5. PGNR, p. 16. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 2. Ireland’s total tax take is around 30 per cent of GDP. The only countries in the EU-27 with a lower percentage of GDP in tax revenue are Latvia, Slovakia and Romania. See Taxation Trends in the European Union (Eurostat, 2010), pp. 208-211 and 292. PGNR, p.16. 7