A government not fit to mind pigs is getting dizzy from all the U-turns

NINE years ago, on December 22, 1999, I said here that the “economy is booming and this country will be enjoying unprecedented prosperity at the start of the new century.

A majority of people may think the Government is doing a good job, but in reality this is probably the worst government we have had since the GUBU administration of 1982, which was the worst government in the history of the State”.

The boom in house prices was being fuelled by people borrowing up to €1 billion a month to buy houses. The average price of a house in Dublin and elsewhere soared. House-owners were delighted, but it was only of value to them if they had another place to live. The people who gained most were the property speculators who bought places, helping to force up prices and then sold those places before the bubble burst.