Paul Gogarty TD issues statement on education [greenparty.ie]
- Published: 11 November 2010
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Last year after delivering what was then considered to be the mother of all budgets, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan told the nation that the worst was over. We had turned a corner. After making €4 billion in adjustments for 2010, the budget for next year would require a smaller adjustment in the region of €3 billion as part of a package of measures that would reduce our deficit to the agreed three per cent target by 2014.
While the fiscal mess was undoubtedly global in origin, its effect had been exacerbated by poor macro-economic decisions made by the previous administration. The property bubble had already been blown up to unsustainable proportions by rezoning decisions at local authority level by councillors from a variety of parties all too ready to accept donations from developers and other vested interests, who coincidentally happened to strongly support unbridled housing construction whether it was needed or not. It was further inflated by bad banking practices and Government policies that proactively encouraged investors into the market.
Full Story: www.greenparty.ie
