Budget must start to rebuild hope and revive our communities

It was a weekend of positive and reassuring mood music.

So why am I anxious? There’s a new air of optimism, even the beginnings of confidence, about. Why would that make me afraid?

Fine Gael were in great form at their annual conference over the weekend. If there was anyone sitting there wondering why the party leader and Taoiseach had managed to blow a referendum on a key personal commitment the week before, they were far too polite to say so. Indeed it was quite remarkable how the Seanad referendum appeared to be air-brushed out of the story that Fine Gael had to tell.