Bitter truth behind Lenihan’s ‘fair’ budget

LISTENING to Brian Lenihan’s defence of the budget, claiming it was “fair”, was so surreal it was like an out of body experience.

The likely outfall from the budget, which includes proposals to slash basic supports and the minimum wage, will be to drive many into poverty, expose in particular children to hardship and must fill even the most optimistic with deep apprehension. The budget indicates a combination of great incompetence with a free and easy approach to truth and basic honesty.

We have known for some time now that this government has become utterly overrun by a hard right-wing fiscal ideology of which it has no real understanding of and thus the inevitable out of control collision with the buffers. A good election result could always extricate us from that mire — but will it? Apprehension soon turns to a deep sense of hopelessness when one realises that this ravenous, greed of money inspired gospel of despair budget, is being foisted upon us with the approval and encouragement of our European neighbours, the cradle of modern civilisation no less.