LRC Report - Shot across the bows?

L

Latrade

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Can this not end up as a public/private argument please.

LRC report published today, but it's comments by Kieran Mulvey that are of most interest:

"We cannot continue simply to expand our public services or maintain them at current levels for the foreseeable future. We must decide what services are necessary and a priority and, therefore, what is financially sustainable,”
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http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1028/breaking29.htm

It's obvious he's gearing up for being busy soon, but is this a bit of a plea or even a sign of how the LRC will advise: cuts are necessary. He's ruled out both expansion and status quo, so all that is left is cuts.

Just to show full fairness, I have taken this small quote from a larger one. He does also state that essential services should only be looked at in terms of efficiencies. However, he doesn't clarify (and in fairness isn't in a position to) what a more efficient service means, i.e. he doesn't rule out cuts being needed.

While I would share in the sentiment from Mulveny I'm not sure it's prudent for the Chair of the LRC to be pre-empting any industrial action with statements. And this isn't the first time either in this debate, what's interesting is he seems to have changed his views from just over a month ago where he stated on Newstalk that there should be punishment of Bankers and greater tax on higher earners before cuts.

Is it suspicious that the Minister "welcomes" the comments?
 
It's interesting that he's talking about cuts in services and not pay (although he hasn't commented either way on that subject).

It's similar to a view expressed recently by Brendan Keenan that, in reality, we've had a greater level of public services than we could really afford or should reasonably have expected to maintain in the longer term. Cuts to services, however you carve them up, are inevitable.
 

I suppose he's only echoing elements of common sense, but I'm not sure he should have made those comments. Especially as he's likely to be involved in the process in the very near future.

I agree with his comments, though it does seem a slight change in tact from earlier comments he has made. But is he right, given who he is, stating such a position this early in the game?
 
While I agree with his comments, he is not the appropriate person to be making them. He was launching the Labour Court's Annual Report, and speaking in his capacity as head of the LRC, not as the Minister for Finance.
 
Such comments really demonstrate that Mr. Mulvey cannot be depended on to be impartial in any Public Sector related disputes on which he may adjudicate down the road.
Grist to the union's mill !
 
Staples said:
... Cuts to services, however you carve them up, are inevitable.
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I don't agree about the inevitability of reductions in the level of services to taxpayers - if certain services are further reduced they will cease to exist, but will almost certainly continue to cost money. We need to cut our cloth to suit our measure by introducing swingeing cuts in public sector pay, starting with double-jobbing politicians who are blocking the appointment of permanent staff to public sector jobs and clocking up pensionable years while not doing the work.
 
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