Ireland is at risk of repeating the mistakes of the past, warns Higgins

Ireland risks "drifting" back to an economic system which will "just repeat all the mistakes" of the past because alternatives are not being considered, President Michael D Higgins yesterday warned.

Speaking at the launch of a St Vincent de Paul report on how the recession has hit one-parent families, the head of State said after half a decade of a crash, the country is set for a period offering both “risk and opportunity”.

However, despite the opportunity of learning from past mistakes, President Higgins said there is evidence that the structures which allowed the worst excesses of the boom and bust years to occur are taking hold again.

While insisting “now is the right time to kick-start a discussion” on more inclusive policies, he said recent housing and credit market developments mean he is “really questioning the capacity” to discuss any alternative model at all.

“The opportunity we must not let go to waste is addressing the root causes of the crisis precipitated by the global financial meltdown and the model of society it supported,” said President Higgins.

“It is not enough to say the upheavals caused by an unprecedented banking collapse and property bubble can be fixed if the right supervision and regulatory mechanisms are in place.

“The current crisis has moral and intellectual ramifications much deeper than that. The risk is if we don’t tackle the assumptions that have inflicted such deep injuries, we will end up going back to ‘business as usual’.

“There are signs already — on the housing market, on the credit markets — such a return to business as usual may be under way.”

Speaking to reporters afterwards, the President added: “I don’t offer a single [alternative] road or model, but I am really seriously questioning the capacity to actually discuss any model. It is as if one is drifting into an atmosphere where you might just repeat all the mistakes of a bad model.”

While stressing he “can’t speak on the budget because that’s a matter for Government”, President Higgins’ comments came as ministers dismissed Irish Fiscal Advisory Council calls to impose €2bn in cuts in the budget.

In recent weeks, concerns have also been raised over rising property prices which have caused a growing rental bubble and seen some prices soar 23% in a year.

Speaking at the one-parent report launch, St Vincent de Paul’s head of social justice, John Mark McCafferty, said the issues show “why it is so important to have this conversation about vision, values, ethics. We do not want to make the same mistakes again.”