Reality and Myth

Its time we face reality and pointed the finger where the blame lies.

It is private entities – financial institution, developers, construction companies – and the Government that have caused this crisis, recession and the great difficulties we now as a nation face.

Fianna Fail’s, and Fine Gael’s, policies of deregulation, transfer of sovereignty to the European Union - for example had we not been misled into the euro we would now have far greater control over fiscal policy and the ability to value our own currency - and reliance upon foreign direct investment have been to the heart of creating an unaccountable and unresponsive economy based solely on the drive for maximisation of profit for private entities.

Yet when one reads the papers or listens to speeches from government politicians one would feel civil servants were surely at the heart of creating this recession. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Over the past few months we have seen a sophisticated campaign of spin led by the Government to divert blame and attention away from themselves and point at those easiest to blame – the civil service.

Why are they easy to blame? Because as a well unionised and a key sector they have campaigned and won rights and conditions that are sometimes ahead of the private sector. Since when has that been such a bad thing? So the Government uses the green eyed monster to try and divert the debate away from culpability and responsibility to the ‘over-paid public sector’.

How many times have I heard FF politicians recently say, ‘let’s not focus on the past, we have to move on and move forward’?

Is the present not the future of the past? And if so surely those guilty must be held to account and most importantly be made pay. What led us hear must be corrected and mistakes made never repeated.

So I say, let us analyse the past so that the recriminations are targeted not at teachers, gardai, nurses, low-paid workers, poor in the under-developed world etc and those made pay are those responsible – the Government and big business.

Connolly Youth Movement
Dublin