No photo op when 10,000 jobs are lost

511 companies have closed so far this year, a loss of 5,000 to 10,000 jobs, according to the latest Company Registration Office figures.

No sign of Taoiseach Enda Kenny or Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton jostling for the photo opportunity at any of these calamitous, life-changing events, where ordinary people lost their jobs and livelihoods. No succour for the entrepreneurs or small-business owners, many of whom have been financially ruined and whose hopes and dreams have been destroyed, often as a direct result of counterproductive, relentless government austerity measures.

These closures represent the hidden, unsung reality of life in the trenches today, out of sight and away from the spin doctors and the PR consultants. Nothing to spin here and no winners, except the new troika of liquidators, banks and lawyers.