Taoiseach’s speech - Is this the best we can hope for?

WAS that really Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s best shot at confronting the greatest economic and social crisis to threaten this country?

Was that really his best shot at allaying the fears of the tens of thousands who have lost jobs in recent weeks and months? Was that really his best shot at convincing thousands worried about job security, mortgages and vanishing pensions that they could retain some degree of optimism?

Was that really his best shot at convincing us that he and his government have the tenacity and vision needed to even imagine a route to recovery?

Was that really his best shot at reassuring international markets that we can manage our affairs effectively?

But most of all was that his best shot at galvanising and uniting a country crying out for leadership?

Was that really his best shot at harnessing the determination and energy of this country to once again control our affairs?

Was that really his best shot at a time when the country is crying out for a plan to give each of us an opportunity to play our part in confronting this crisis that has the capacity to change all our lives?

If that is as good as it gets then we are in far, far more trouble than we ever imagined.

This crisis is far, far bigger than any individual but it is terribly disappointing that our Taoiseach could offer little more than a tinkering-at-the-edges gesture to confront the insanity of how we pay public sector pensions.

As Mr Cowen prepared to address the Dáil, figures were released that showed that January’s budget deficit reached €747.2 million, reversing a surplus of €630m from the first month of 2008.

Where were the proposals proportionate to that frightening turnaround? Where was the realisation that every day we slide deeper into the morass and that the time for soft talking has long since passed?

Mr Cowen must have been dismayed that his preferred option — consensus — failed early yesterday morning. He invested huge capital in this drawn-out charade and must have been flummoxed when relatively modest proposals were rejected. Thankfully, he had the courage to impose them in the Dáil.

As Labour leader Eamon Gilmore pointed out Mr Cowen has far more support than he imagines — if only he confronts the issues we all know need to be resolved. What is the problem? What is he waiting for?

Far more questions than answers remain; far more doubts than options. The sums at issue yesterday are tiny in comparison to what we will have to save in the coming years, yet we got not the slightest indication of how these vast savings might be realised.

This was not a good day for Mr Cowen or anyone else dependent on this economy. Will the real Mr Cowen, or the real leader, please stand up.