Cut state spending and support small enterprise

WHILE it may have been a surprise for Opposition politicians to learn from Department of Finance officials recently that growth was not going to be anywhere near previous projections – and therefore the state of our public finances will continue to be far worse than previously claimed – it was no surprise to Ireland’s small and mediu m business-owners.

They have known for two years how dire the situation is.

By contrast, our gaggle of left-leaning economists, cocooned within their institutional walls, have no comprehension of real-world economics. They believe we can repeat the fiscal mistakes of the mid-1980s by perpetually increasing income and capital gains taxes instead of having a laser-focus on government spending.