Irish Examiner View: Big government is resurgent

The public purse has been tapped again to meet the need for public support.

The pandemic has, just as the banking crisis of 2008 did, confirmed that at moments of great crisis, at moments when great resources are needed, then the public purse is the transfusion service of last resort. New figures from the Department of Social Protection confirm this and maybe, just maybe that the old, social contract idea of big government is resurgent.

Almost a third of Government's general expenditure was last year directed at social protection initiatives. Yesterday's social welfare services annual report for 2020 showed that €30.6bn was spent on social protection, an increase of 46% over 2019. This was an exceptional year and it demanded an exceptional response. 

Maybe we have become blase, maybe we have come to take the capacity — not to mention the will — to respond like this more for granted than we should. There was, no matter what the government's detractors say, immediate recognition of the huge need for support for those unable to work because of covid. 

That was, in the most general terms, quickly in place and remains an option in many circumstances. This, and the increasingly successful rollout of the vaccination programme, albeit after some early teething troubles especially around supply, is an achievement not to be sniffed at.

The autumn budget may, however, present the bill, one is inevitable. This will offer an opportunity to advance a political philosophy long in retreat. That this century's first two crises were resolved by state intervention is undeniable — how many more might be?