Congress General Secretary David Begg has urged Troika officials to "do the honourable thing" and concede that austerity as a remedy for Ireland's problems is wrong, socially destructive and damaging to prospects for economic recovery.
Mr Begg – at the head of a Congress delegation that met with Troika officials – said that the last 12 months had seen 'the wheels come off the austerity wagon as more evidence of its unsuitability and destructive impact emerges. The International Monetary Fund concedes that the approach taken here was wrong. Equally, the case for austerity put forward by economists Reinhart and Rogoff is now known to be based on flawed calculations. But most damning of all, we have heard Professor Ashoka Mody – an architect of the Irish bailout – admit major errors in the construction of Ireland's rescue package.
"In other words, the ideological underpinning of this entire policy approach – in Ireland and across the EU - has been utterly discredited. The Troika should now do the honourable thing and admit their policy failure."
"It's time for a new departure," Mr Begg said, 'time for a new deal for Ireland."
