Alternative to years of austerity

While the Government might celebrate our most recent ‘pat on the back’ from the Troika it should react seriously to statistics that revealed the dire health of our domestic economy and the impact on households.

Firstly, the CSO’s estimates for the first quarter of this year show declines for both GDP (-1.1%) and GNP (-1.3%) compared with the fourth quarter of 2011.

Secondly, the research published by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) highlighted that there has been an increase in just three months of 180,000 in the number of adults that have less than €100 a month to spend after bills are paid.