Private sector ‘key to success’

EAMONN BARRETT, of the Adam Smith Institute in London, warned yesterday that State enterprise has had its day.

The debate is over, the only real issue now is how to make it happen, he said.

Mr Barrett made his comments when addressing a PD lunch in Dublin yesterday.

Accepting that rail privatisation did not go smoothly in Britain, Mr Barrett said the overall positive impact of the changes initiated by Margaret Thatcher could not be ignored.

In areas such as gas, water, electricity, the statistics show the consumer continues to get a better deal and prices continue to fall in real terms.

Overall, the argument favouring privatisation is underpinned by the falling cost of the services outlined to consumers in Britain, he said.

And the philosophy is gaining wider currency across Europe, he said.

In the case of health, Britain has the biggest rich/poor disparity when it comes to quality of health service, he said.

Britain’s health service is still 90% state controlled and where greater competition exists across Europe, the difference between public and private health care is not as marked, he said.

In the case of education Denmark was a good example of the state providing funding for private schools.