The age of austerity

IT WAS convenient for Michael Noonan that his Labour party colleague in Government had already done most of the dirty work.

The Finance Minister took to his feet to deliver a well-crafted budget speech that claimed to soften the blow of harsh cuts announced by his coalition partners 24 hours earlier.

The maiden budget speech of a veteran politician managed to avoid mentioning any of the items that will define his first spending plan as Finance Minister: cuts to the disability allowance, reduced children’s allowance and fewer number of fuel payments for the elderly.