Cutbacks revelation unveils cheap and nasty Government

SO now we know. The Public Expenditure Division (PED) makes the decisions and the Government implements them in stealth.

For reasons I'll explain in a minute, that's all the commentary you need about how bad a Government this is.

Every time the outgoing Government was accused of arranging secret cuts, the howls of indignation from Ministers had to be heard to be believed. Finance, Health, Justice all the incumbents at one time or another denied anything was being contemplated. But not only were the cuts taking place in secret, they were taking place as a result of conscious Government decisions. The Cabinet met twice to agree, as a matter of policy, that election promises would be paid for by cutbacks.