Government ministers inexperienced and incompetent, says ISME chairman

The chairman of one of the country's leading business groups is accusing the Government of mis-management, incompetence and reckless trading.

Eilis Quinlan, from the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) said that Ireland has been badly let down by the political leaders.

"The political system has failed us because it allows popular but unproven individuals to entrusted with ministerial responsibilities for which they have neither the executive experience nor in some cases the mental competence," she said.

She also says the Opposition parties have a distinct lack of imagination, and focused on Government-bashing without putting forward any worthwhile concrete proposals.

Eilis Quinlan, who was speaking at the ISME annual conference, also said that the current political system is ineffective and in need of urgent and radical reform.

"We need to seriously look at introducing a political system similar to that which operates in other European countries where ministers are created because of their excellent achievements in business, management and leadership," she said.

"The politicians no doubt will stick to the tired line that it was external factors that got us into this mess. This is absolute rubbish, the fact remains that we are being governed by individuals who are more concerned with holding onto power than putting the good of the country first.

"It is all of us, however, who have paid a heavy price for their incompetence, through higher taxes, job losses, company closures and a national debt that will take decades to repay.

Referring to the Government’s four-year plan and the upcoming Budget, Quinlan outlined: "The emphasis needs to be on generating the savings required, without doing further damage to the economy.

"This requires concentrating the majority of cuts on current expenditure, mainly through public sector reform, as opposed to excessively increasing taxes on individuals and companies, which will only do irreparable damage to an economy already on its knees.

"In conjunction with cost cutting, a stimulus package for enterprise must be introduced to get the country working again. Confidence will be achieved with a commitment to securing the future through necessarily harsh but prudent budgeting, allied to a business stimulus package."