Noel Dempsey ‘haunted daily’ by crash era decisions

Former minister Noel Dempsey, who was part of the Fianna Fáil-led coalition during the economic crash, has said he is “haunted” by the decisions his government took — and warned Ireland is failing to learn from the mistakes of the past.

The former TD said the policies introduced at the time in a desperate bid to save the country from economic collapse were “horrendous for people” and still weigh heavily on his mind in a detailed interview at the weekend.

Speaking on to Marian Finucane on RTÉ yesterday, the ex-Meath TD, who held a number of ministerial positions between 1997 and 2011, said “there isn’t a day that passes” he is not “haunted” by the decisions his coalition took while in office.