AUSTERITY MAKING RECOVERY 'ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE'

16 Dec 2011

The continued austerity programme is costing jobs and making recovery almost impossible, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said.

Speaking in the aftermath of new figures that showed the economy shrank at the fastest rate in two years, in the third quarter of 2011, Congress General David Begg said: "Once again we have clear confirmation that austerity is simply not working and the need to generate growth as the key to recovery.

"In his budget speech, the Minister for Finance indicated that he was interested in pursuing a proposal we made in relation to facilitating private pension fund investment in key projects. We would urge him to act speedily on this and for the Government as a whole to act on a wider range of initiatives that can inject some growth into the economy," Mr Begg said.

"Current policies are making recovery almost impossible. No economy can sustain the sort of ongoing damage that is being inflicted on us. The latest figures show, yet again, a big drop in domestic demand while retailers warn of more closures in the new year.

"We need growth and we need it quickly," Mr Begg said.

 

 

Irish Congress of Trade Unions,
32 Parnell Square,
Dublin 1
Tel: (01) 8897799/ 087 9174171