Madam, - I, like many of your readers, was shocked to learn of the extent of the proposed Government cutbacks as reported in your newspaper of late.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen conveniently cites the international economic situation for the current state of the Irish economy. However, the mid-term Exchequer figures from earlier this month show conclusively that Brian Cowen blew the boom and has instigated the worst deterioration in our public finances in the history of the State.
During the Taoiseach's four-year tenure as minister for finance a €4 billion surplus was turned into a €3 billion deficit through reckless and self-indulgent budgets which followed an electoral rather than an economic cycle. Of the €440 million proposed cutbacks in 2008, €144 million are planned in the health sector alone.
Worse still, the CSO reveals the biggest ever increase in the Live Register in June. A total of 19,055 more people signed on between May and June, with 635 people losing their job every day - the highest ever increase in unemployment. Since the last election, when the Fianna Fáil Government scraped back into power on the back of false economic promises, at least 54,000 people have lost their jobs and the Live Register has risen by a third.
The Taoiseach must now outline a clear and comprehensive strategy on how his Government intends to take responsibility for and deal with the serious economic situation the country now faces. - Yours, etc,
MARK WAKEFIELD, Turners' Cross, Cork.