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‘TIS THE SEASON for pre-Budget announcements.
Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil have been setting out what they’d do in power this week.
Charities, business groups and a raft of other organisations have also been contributing their two cents on what should be done to set the economy — and the country — on the right track.
This afternoon, it was the turn of the Greens — who outlined a list of priorities, with a strong focus on capital investment.
“We understand the case being made by the Fiscal Advisory Council for maintaining a €2 billion adjustment for fear that a deterioration in the international economic environment could threaten our future public finances,” party leader Eamon Ryan said in a statement.
That said, the party wants to increase capital spending to address “infrastructure bottlenecks which provide a more immediate threat to our economy recovery and which hinder our long term development potential”.
According to Ryan:
“The adjustment to our capital budget has been excessive in the last three years.
Capital expenditures are now running at less than 40 per cent of what is normal in other European countries, and 60 per cent of that spending goes on the maintenance of existing infrastructure, rather than providing for new facilities which will be needed to meet the needs of our growing population.
The party’s proposing increased investment in cycle and bus lanes; a retro-fitting programme of schools, hospitals and other public buildings to improve their energy efficiency; and more spending on social housing, which it says should be organised by local government, rather than from Dublin.
You can read more about their plan here.
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Good man Hugh. Can I suggest that you circulate this to some of your younger colleagues who have posted articles over the past few days which have suggested that the fans were responsible for this tragedy.
Hi Eamonn, can you give me any specific examples here?
@ Hugh. Sure, check out an article posted 22 hours ago in the Score section. The original wording was amended after I pointed out the facts of the Taylor Report but in the discussion below the article the writer repeats the assertion that " fan irresponsibility" was the cause of the tragedy. This is totally untrue. The Taylor Report clearly states poor crowd management and Stadium design as the key factors. Thanks Hugh.
@Eamonn: I understand this is a highly emotive subject, and I accept your point re:the ambiguity of the original wording, but your claim that I blamed the actions of fans for the tragedy is grossly inaccurate. I think if you re-read my comment, you’ll see that’s the case.
The significance of the Commons debate lay in its attempt to dispel the myth of fan irresponsibility once and for all, bringing the official, government narrative in line with the experience of supporters and victims. The PM is contemplating a public apology because that never really happened, even in the wake of the Taylor Report.
@ Conor. My concern is that comments like “The question of official blame, however, has historically been reduced to one of fan irresponsibility” is just simply untrue and unfortunately, only helps perpetuate the myth. I’m not sure how else I’m supposed to read this. This is totally at odds with the only official inquiry into the events leading up to the tragedy. That’s my point, nothing personal. Over and out. Thanks Conor.
Another of Thatcher’s legacies.
have your say