Cowen huffs and puffs as chill winds blow in Dáil

A DISHEVELLED looking man has taken to lying on the elegant doorways facing Leinster House in recent weeks and using those ivory coloured perches to, in turn, hurl obscenities at passers-by and then demand money from them.

In many ways it is similar to the Government’s stance at the social partnership negotiations.

With those talks in deadlock and a sense of despair engulfing the nation as our economy teeters on the brink of the abyss, thank God the Dáil had stirred from its well-deserved 38-day Christmas holiday to finally get to grips with a country in crisis.