An interesting article appeared in yesterdays Irish Times business page titled Irish are suffering austerity fatique. It was London correspondent Mark Hennessys report on a speech the secretary general of the Dept of Public Expenditure and Reform, Robert Watt, gave to the Institute for Govt in London. But what grabbed my attention was the last paragraph which read thus: However, significant demographic pressures exist, with growing numbers of over-65s and children: “We are looking at more commissioning and moving away from block grants, and encourage lot of different actors to bid to provide public services,” Mr Watt said. So now you have it - older people are considered a cost and the only way the actors of the state can reduce the cost burden is through the privatization of what are, for so many, essential public services. irishtimes/business/economy/irish-are-suffering-austerity-fatigue-1.1801770
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 13:08:16 +0000