If Skoda can successfully reinvent itself, so can our clapped-out state

NEGATIVITY of the national public mood is at fever pitch. The response to the allocation of free cheese has been bizarre. As part of the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU Commission has a regular policy of acquiring and distributing free food, within its remit.

Circulation of 53 tonnes of Irish cheddar cheese has no downside. Don’t want it? Ignore the option. Tasty protein for free can only be good for you. As minister in the mid-1990s, we distributed copious amounts of free tinned stewed beef. The howls of derision that greeted Brendan Smith were irrational and nonsensical. This scheme is utterly disconnected from our present economic plight.

The weeping and gnashing should be reserved for authentic bad news. False positivity to date has been based on denial and inaccurate analysis of the extent of bank losses and fiscal deficits. The reasons why Irish sovereign bonds are now well above an unprecedented 8% are manifold.