Ireland's Zelig' economics

Shadow of an IMF 'gunman'

IRELAND's economy seems to be sleep walking its way towards a nightmarish embrace with the IMF.
The elected chamber has attained a remarkable ability to resemble political representation in changing its colour as required but seems to lack strategy, direction or any pretence at governance.
Public sector unions have played it their way for so long that they appear to be a self serving cabale at the heart of government.
The partnership process is not working. There has been no review of public administration. It has become a predatory canabilistic web of intrique and broken promise for reform whereby pay parity, in benchmarking the private sector, has occurred without any reciprocal parity on productivity, changed working practices and more importantly, open competition for career advancement.
With more than 400,000 people actively seeking employment, many must sit on their hands whilst those within the public sector advance careers without open competition from PhD, MBA or other suitably qualified candidates on the outside.
With a pension timebomb creeping up on those unable to secure employment, the political change necessary to restore an equitable redistribution of jobs to those with the requiste skillset is obvious.
The docile nature of the Irish will give comfort to the peoples' representatives at Parliament, and the union bossess, secure in their 'family seats', buoyed up by an electorates' propensity to return the 'cute hoor' to Dail Eireann.
Taxation, public sector work practices and its bloated pension arrangements are three economic strands that have unravelled and tripped up the economy.
A failure by the public sector's Financial Services Regulatory Authority to police the 'Celtic Tiger's' bankers has compounded Ireland's woes.
The unfolding NAMA drama at the 'Four Goldmines' will test more than precedent but stand or fall on the confidence the Toxic Asset Management Agency' enjoys with Ireland's judiciary.
If we are all in this together, when will the peoples' representatives divorce themselves from the leechlike lefties and deliver something more tangible than political rhetoric.