A renewed economy - New car sales soar

IT’S been nearly a decade since the then German ambassador to Ireland, Christian Pauls, found himself in hot water over a less than valedictory speech he made to German businessmen about Ireland.

He criticised the fact that some doctors were so very highly paid compared to their German counterparts and that about 20% of workers were public servants. He said the Irish were “coarse” and that we could think of nothing better to do with our newfound prosperity other than to buy new cars.

It would be interesting so to hear how Herr Pauls might react to the revelation that new car sales rose by almost 30% in February. Would he see it as a reckless waste of capital or a justified indulgence after years of Berlin-imposed austerity? Would he see it as a return to the Celtic Tiger excesses that almost broke this country?