Taoiseach out of touch with private sector

LIKE a majority of fair-minded citizens I have spent much energy feeling helpless and outraged at the apparent illogical and self-serving behaviour of our political leaders.

Reflecting on this a thought struck me: how can an intelligent man such as Taoiseach Brian Cowen be so out of touch with the realities of those especially in the private sector.

Realities for state-employed citizens and for those in the private sector, I believe, have important differences. These include business experience, pay, measurable performance, appropriateness and quality of training, conditions of employment, sick pay, pension benefits and security of employment. A CSO report last December stated that as of September 2009 there were 360,900 public sector employees.