ESRI should hang its head in shame

Dublin South West representative Seán Crowe TD described the Economic and Social Research Institute report released this week as a flawed and ideologically loaded analysis that is contributing absolutely nothing to the debate around the State’s potential recovery. Deputy Crowe said he was at loss at why the ESRI could clearly see no connection between its continued cuts mantra and its own observation that the economy will continue to contract.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“For five years, since the beginning of this Financial Crisis, the commentary around how we get out of it has been heavily one sided and focussed on cutbacks, reducing public services and hurting those low and middle income families.

“The ESRI has been part of the herd mentality that continues to push austerity in face of all the bald facts that show austerity is lengthening the crisis, irreparably damaging the economy and pushing more and more families into greater poverty and debt

This year we have seen 40,000 people emigrate, something which the ESRI and Government parties seem to see as natural fall out and acceptable collateral damage of their cuts agenda.

“The ESRI report today says the Government must continue to make cuts, and then goes onto say that the economy is bouncing along the bottom and will continue to contract. It either does not see or chooses to ignore the connection here. It says the cuts must be made regardless of any banking debt deal. This of course is the same ESRI that said in 2010 that our banking debt was manageable.

“The ESRI is contributing absolutely nothing to this debate and will continue to contribute nothing if it does not stand back and take an objective view of the Irish economy. €25 billion has come out in budget cuts since 2008. In 2012 we still have a €13 billion deficit, debt to GDP is over 100%, 460,000 people are on the live register, hundreds of businesses are closing each year, thousands emigrating, a flat-lining GDP, a domestic economy on the floor – and yet nobody in the ESRI or Government thinks that warrants a change of policy direction.

“The ESRI should hang its head in shame.”