Failure of our leaders could bring in IMF, warns Power

IRELAND should hope for intervention from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if does not get the political leadership it deserves, according to a leading economist.

Jim Power, chief economist with Friends First, said part of him would “actually welcome IMF intervention” because it has no political allegiances and would have no attachment to any sector of the economy.

“They just come in and they slash and burn, and if that’s the only way to get the public finances back in order then so be it, but I’d hate to have to test the theory,” he said.