Impact of austerity - Hindsight won’t solve problems

The scathing comments of IMF troika team member Professor Ashoka Mody, on the negative impact of austerity underlying Ireland’s bailout package, have long been foreshadowed in these columns.

It is hard to resist the temptation to say ‘we told you so’ but it has been patently clear that the rescue programme is so harsh as to resemble a form of national punishment.

According to Prof Mody, a familiar figure on the streets of Dublin during the bailout negotiations, serious mistakes were made when so many austerity measures were inflicted on the Irish people. That skewed approach is seen in graphic terms up and down the country. Some towns have been struck by a blight that will leave its mark for years to come. A stroll down any main street would show him that the retail and small business sectors have been decimated. Ireland’s fiscal sovereignty has been sacrificed and the taxpayer is crucified with an unsustainable burden.