Hectoring is not the way to win people over

One of the amazing things about the Croke Park extension that was voted down was: How on Earth it was ever really expected to be accepted?

The evidence from this debacle is that the Government seems to have very little collective or institutional insight into how people act when faced with decision-making under uncertainty. And that’s inexcusable; the greatest growth in economics and finance over the last while has been in that very area.

In the UK, the Cabinet Office has a strong, well-regarded team of people dedicated to applying the latest research to government decisions. We get Brian Hayes. The hysterical shrieking of Brendan Howlin that “he would run out of money”. Then the cold rowing back by Alan Shatter on promised garda recruitment. It shows these two ministers don’t know we have €33bn in cash sitting on deposit right now or choose to elide budget allocations.