Time to square up to Ireland’s golden circles

IT’S been one of the worst weeks in our history. The greed of the few and the incompetence of Government and regulators have consigned us to this dreadful place.

Unfortunately, just because the IMF/EU/ECB have ridden in on their white chargers does not mean all is well now and we can diddle daddle for another while as Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore would have us do.

It’s a horrifying thought to think that the leader of one of the parties that will almost certainly be part of the next Government believes he can sit back now and see how the land lies. Then after the trauma of an election, the forming of a new coalition government, , followed by several months of getting to grips with the detail of where we find ourselves, sit back down with the IMF/EU/ECB representatives and renegotiate the terms of our surrender.

Those were the implications of what he meant when he said: “We’re now out of the markets, so who now is the €6 billion (in cuts) meant to convince or meant to impress?”

In the light of such views the formation of a new government is even more worrying when one considers the real and perceived differences between Fine Gael and Labour on the steps and actions necessary to stabilise the economy, to sort out pariah banks and create conditions for growth. We may not yet have reached our darkest hour.

The markets have already made it clear they are not impressed with the supports promised for Ireland.

Presumably the belated decision by the Greens to jump ship, and the perceived resulting instability, will have supported that position. As a result, the cost of Spanish bonds has risen and Portugal is increasingly in the cross hairs of the global financial vultures.

In addition, a number of Irish economists, and indeed others, have suggested the projected €80bn-€90bn coming from our rescuers is grossly inadequate given that we have not one failure to contend with but two, that of banking and of a collapse of Government finances. In such circumstances, it would be foolhardy indeed to delay putting corrective measures in place at the very earliest opportunity.

There are those who will say that as there is more than “one way to skin a cat” there is also more than one way to reduce expenditure by €6bn — if, of course, if you accept the figure for this year is to be €6bn. The reality is much different — the money comes with very short strings which limit what can be achieved and how it can be achieved.

This is not how we would like it but the failure of the Government to realise or accept our predicament has reduced our options.

In nationalising Anglo Irish, in taking effective control of Allied Irish Bank and so on it has put us in hock to the world.

The main parties have agreed broadly the steps that are necessary.

Notwithstanding that, the next government will be made up of very different parties with very different ways of seeing the world. The only way that the savage cuts will be accepted is if they are fair. So far all we are hearing about is how those who can least afford it are going to be hammered.

If those who are grossly overpaid by international standards, and that includes ministers, politicians, senior civil and public servants, bankers, accountants, lawyers, the judiciary and a lot more do not take a major hit in this budget it has little chance of working. If those who brought this country to its knees are not taken to task in the early part of 2011 things are going to get very nasty.

Let us see those who gained most from the period of largesse pay for it and let our new Government take the opportunity to reorder how we do business at all levels in the interests of the republic. No more golden circles and cute-hoorism.