Lack of new government risks recovery

Four weeks have passed since the general election, yet the country remains without a government.

It does have an ‘acting’ government, with an ‘acting’ taoiseach and ‘acting’ ministers, but one would be foolish to believe that any major policy initiatives will be acted upon. Until a government is formed, we are in a policy vacuum.

Does this matter? Some policy choices made by Irish governments would suggest that the answer is ‘no’, as Ireland has faced economic ruin, partly on the back of policy blunders, on two occasions in the past 30 years.