Gerard Howlin: Reality will soon shatter the fantasy of an austerity-free recovery

Tax income must be found or promises will have to be broken - our columnist's money is on the latter

Shoppers, some wearing face masks, walking along Opera Lane in Cork City. Picture: Denis Minihane

Political chatter is fascinated by the mishaps of new ministers recently, all of them, coincidently, from Fianna Fáil. I sense that such carry-on is more interesting to the political class than it is the general public.

What will matter soon is not messy missteps, but the substance of the economic recovery from Covid-19, and the associated political cost. There is a continuing fantasy of an austerity-free recovery.