There’s a real chance we too will end up on a perilous Greek odyssey

THE state of our public finances has taken on a severe international dimension in the past week. Two events have brought into sharp focus the perilous path Ireland treads.

Firstly, the EU Commission has ruled the Government bailout of Anglo Irish Bank as routine annual expenditure – same as public sector pay or welfare. This has a devastating impact on the presentation of exchequer accounts. It pole vaults us to having the biggest current budget deficit in the eurozone for 2009, at 14.3%, with an even more bleak outlook for this year.

Secondly, for the first time in the 12-year history of the euro a member state has been unable to raise funds from the market and has to rely on an EU/IMF bailout. Greece has set a precedent for vulnerable members of the currency.