Bruton’s smoke-and-mirrors analysis of public spending

THE reaction to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s declaration of his socialist credentials over the weekend has meant that too little attention has been paid to a pre-budget document published by Fine Gael on Sunday afternoon.

The document entitled ‘Who cares - Is our money getting to the areas that need it most?’ appears to have been the child of the considerable brain of the party’s finance spokesman and deputy leader, Richard Bruton.

Its basic thesis is that public expenditure has increased dramatically in the last seven years in which this FF/PD Government has been in power, but that this increased public expenditure has somehow been wasted.