Labour pains

Last Tuesday a Labour Minister (Brendan Howlin) announced a complete surrender to the public sector unions on the issue of allowances.

On Wednesday a Fine Gael minister (James Reilly) was forced to defend cuts made to frontline services, the only option left to him as a result of the refusal to cut public sector pay.

And then on Thursday, a Labour Minister (Roisin Shortall) made an extraordinary public attack on Dr Reilly as a result of all of this.