The Euro it was that destroyed the Irish economy

The much lower interest rates in the Euro zone than those applicable when the punt shadowed the pound sterling almost certainly did for the Irish economy. An editorial in yesterday's The Herald in Dublin is worth repeating in full as it indicates the stupidity of the hope amongst EU elites that against the present economic results of this error a second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is likely to yield a Yes. It is titled "We are all victims of the Budget" and is linked from here.

We were warned that yesterday's emergency budget would be a tough one, but few outside of Government could have seen it being this harsh. Although everyone accepts that the country is in dire economic straits at the moment and needs the co-operation of the people to get out of this mess, there was still a sense of bewilderment at the severity of the measures imposed on ordinary workers.

These regular workers -- many of whom have seen enforced wage cuts by employers or the loss of overtime benefits -- and ordinary families have once again taken the biggest hit from the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan's, attempts to plug the gaps in the public finances.

These workers aren't the sort of people who rode the Celtic Tiger for all it was worth. These are ordinary people existing from month to month on their wage packets.

But what makes it particularly difficult to stomach is that the levies are to be implemented from May 1, giving little breathing space for those who are already feeling the pinch.

The Minister said that he had to be tough with this emergency budget, but he has hit vulnerable sectors of society. Yesterday's announcement was a missed opportunity. Instead of tackling the bloated public sector and attempting to rein in the outrageous waste of money in many State bodies, Minister Lenihan backed away. Perhaps he and the rest of the Government shied away from the issue as they didn't want disputes with the influential public sector unions in advance of the rerun of the Lisbon Treaty later this year.

Whatever the reasoning, with the Minister signalling future increases in property, carbon and child benefit tax in December's Budget, one thing is certain: the worst is yet to come.

In the interests of balance an alternative view, that assumes the misery now to be applied by their political leaders will result in a huge Yes vote second time around (farewell democracy), may be read from this link.